Monday, September 29, 2008

Ernst and Young doubly sure

TOUGH: Last Season's Malaysia Hockey League action.

ERNST and Young have set their sights on a Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) double this season, and they look good for it.
League champions Ernst and Young, who evolved from Andersen Sports Club in 2003, have yet to win the Overall title, as they ended up bridesmaids from 2004 to 2007.
With 12 current national players in their stable, it looks like good sailing for them, as they only have to knock Sapura and Tenaga, both with a healthy dose of former national players, out of contention.
“The team looks good on paper, and the management has set a target of lifting both titles, as it is about time we make an impact in the MHL,” said Ernst & Young coach K. Dhar maraj.
Their training schedule was a little disrupted, because the 12 national players trained with coach Sarjit Singh, and left for the Hamburg Masters yesterday.
The national team will play in the International Invitational on Oct 3-5 against Olympic champions Germany, Pakistan and Belgium.
“Initially, I only had five players to train, and then six more joined when they were dropped from national training. Our preparations were a little disrupted, but the 12 are pro fessionals, and should be able to click when the MHL starts,” said Dharmaraj.
Division One will start on Oct 10, while Division Two on Oct 17.
There are six teams in Division One and nine in Division Two. The top-two teams in Division Two will join the six in Division One for the knock-out quarterfinals.
Division One: Sapura, Ernst and Young, Maybank, Tenaga Nasional, National Juniors, Nur Insafi.
Division Two: Border Forces Club, Sekolah Sultan Alam Shah of Putrajaya, Royal Malay Regiment (RMR), Jurutera Letrik Jentera (JLJ), Dolphins, Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS), Bandar Penawar Sports School (BPSS), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and Universiti Malaysia Perlis (Unimap).