KUCHING: SMK Penrissen maintained their stranglehold on the Kuching Schools Hockey Championship winning both the U-15 and U-18 boys’ titles at the Sarawak Hockey Stadium.
The U-15 draw saw 12 teams participating. Paku made the semi-finals when they beat SMK Bandar Semariang Baru 2-1 while Lake slipped past SMK Matang Hilir 1-0. The stage for the semi-finals was set when Sains beat SMK St Thomas while the defending champions cruised past SMK Semerah Padi 3-0.
Penrissen rolled into the final when they brushed aside Sains 3-0 while Lake ended Paku’s run with a 1-0 scoreline.
A single Penrissen goal was enough to win them the final as they went on to shut out Lake.
Friday’s finals also saw the defending champions extend their 12-year reign in the senior boys’ competition.
The nine-a-side senior boys’ title was contested by 11 teams.
Sains qualified for the final when they beat Paku and then Bau, both with 1-0 scores.
Penrissen marched into the final when they beat both Bako and Lake 2-0 each.
In the final, Sains was forced to backpedal for most of the 24-minute match as the champs stamped their class.
A penalty corner in the first half saw the ball rebounded off Sains goalkeeper for Penrissen skipper Luther V. Thomson to slamm in the only goal of the match.
In the second half, Penrissen had their chances including a penalty corner, but were unable to convert.
Sains’ coach Mohd. Hazman acknowledged that his side were in a difficult situation.
“They are a very good tactical side,” he said while acknowledging that the defending champion dominated the match.
Nonetheless, he was upbeat about the performance of his team.
“We have improved greatly since last year. I feel our defense is quite good but our offense have to improve,” he added. Hazman has coached the team since 2010.
Penrissen’s coach Kangot Awan was pleased to see his boys continue their proud tradition but was perturbed by one aspect of their play.
“Our players need to improve on the technical side of their play,” he observed.