MHL graph takes a dive

24/05/2002

THE Malaysian Hockey League (MHL) has come to its tail-end with the second
leg of the semifinals among the four deserving teams scheduled today.
Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) are the only team with a slight
disadvantage because they trail Sapura by one goal while Tenaga Nasional
Bhd and Andersen Sports Club, who drew 2-2 in the first leg, will start
from zero.
The League has seen its highs and lows, but the slide has been mostly
downwards.
National chief coach Paul Lissek, who watched most of the matches,
lamented on the drastic drop of fitness among his national charges who
joined the League after a gruelling Kuala Lumpur World Cup.
"Something is not right here. From what I gathered after watching the
MHL, most of the players who took part in the World Cup have either added
a few kilos or have become slower in their reflexes," said Lissek.
"The League should have kept them fit for their next national
assignment, but the results have been otherwise."
Tajol Rosli, who missed national training which were held in-between the
League matches because of his studies, was was singled out by the coach.
"Tajol is not the same player he used to be a few months back. He is too
slow and to a certain extent, a little lazy.
"The rest of the World Cup players have also slowed down their pace,"
said Lissek, who is expected to face a torrid time during the Four-Nation
in Australia at the end of the month.
Though he was left out of the Four-Nation, Tajol is still in the
national trainees list.
The only player that has improved by leaps and bounds by playing in the
MHL is Mohamed Amin Rahim.
His recall into the national side for the Australian Four-Nation did not
surprise anyone.
Amin, 22, dropped from the KL World Cup squad, looks much fitter now and
his scoops are getting further and more accurate. He played a crucial role
in keeping the score down for BSN by holding a tight grip on the defence.
Lissek is also not happy that his charges have forgotten all the tactics
that he grilled into them for the KL World Cup.
"There is no system in their play now. Some of them have gone back to
what they used to do before the World Cup," said Lissek.
And the solution to the back-to-basics syndrome?
"For the Junior Hockey League (JHL), we have decided that the 25 juniors
in national training will only play for their respective clubs but train
fulltime under national coaches.
"This way, we can monitor their form and assess any drop in performance
before it becomes too bad.
"This is a win-win situation because the clubs will get top dollar for
their players and the country will also benefit in the long run.
"We must also start by drilling the basics at a younger age, because
once the players mature, it is very hard to change their bad habits."
That was why Lissek chose to field a young side for the Four-Nation,
which featured Australia, South Korea and India.
The oldest player in the squad is Chairil Anwar, 30, followed by Roslan
Jamaluddin and Rodhanizam Radzi, both 24.
The rest of the players are below 22, with the youngest being Mohamed
Fikri Bassar who is only 17.
On the MHL semifinals, Tenaga Nasional will start as the favourites over
Andersen while BSN are highly touted to make a strong comeback.
Andersen have been lucky all this while because their Indian import Len
Ayappa has scored more than 30 goals in the MHL to single-handedly take
them into the semifinals.
Without Len, Andersen would have been just another struggling team in
the MHL.
The same can be said about BSN because they relied heavily on their
Pakistan players Sohail Abbas and Kashif Jawad for goals. Without the duo,
BSN would also among the bottom teams.
Tenaga, with 100 per cent local players, lifted the League title in
style and are a good bet for the double this year.
(END)