Australia make Dutch look like schoolboys

FIH Pic / Stanislas Brochier

Match review: Korea 5–3 Germany (29 Nov 2009) > Korea beat Germany 5-3 for their first victory at Melbourne 2009. > This is the first time Korea beat Germany in Champions Trophy competition. Germany had recorded seven wins and one draw in their previous eight CT encounters with Korea. > Today’s five goals mark the third highest score for Korea in a Champions Trophy match. Their record is six goals in a match in 1998 against Spain (6-3) and in 2007 against The Netherlands (6-2). > At Rotterdam 2008, Germany also went down 5-3 in their match against The Netherlands. > Jan-Marco Montag lifted his Melbourne 2009 total to three goals by converting two penalty corners.

Match review: The Netherlands 2–7 Australia (29 November 2009) > Australia beat The Netherlands 7-2 to hand the Dutch their biggest defeat in Champions Trophy history. > The biggest CT defeat for Holland before today came in their 7-3 defeat against Australia in 1980 and was emulated in 2007 when they lost 6-2 to Korea. > Australia’s biggest CT win is a 9-1 victory over France in 1992. > Australia are the only team to have collected two wins from two matches at Melbourne 2009. > Australia are now unbeaten in their last six Champions Trophy encounters with the Dutch recording four wins and two draws. > Grant Schubert (AUS) became the first player since Britain’s Russell Garcia in 1994 to score a hat-trick before half time in a Champions Trophy match.

Match review: England 3–3 Spain (29 Nov 2009)
> England and Spain drew 3-3 to leave both teams winless after two match days at Melbourne 2009.

> England won their first point in a Champions Trophy match against Spain today, having suffered two defeats in their two previous encounters with Spain in 1981 and 1999.

> Xavier Ribas (ESP) and James Tindall (ENG) netted two goals each today, to lift their total number of goals at Melbourne 2009 to three each. They join Grant Schubert (AUS), Jan-Marco Montag (GER) and Taeke Taekema (NED) as top goal scorers after two match days at Melbourne 2009.

Perak-Pahang u-14 opener

NATIONAL Under-14 hockey defending champions Perak will square off against hosts Pahang at the Kuantan Stadium today.
Last year, Perak were crowned as champions when they beat Kuala Lumpur 5-3 in the final.
The National Under-14 made its debut in 2005, when it replaced the Under-15 tournament.
GROUP A: Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Pahang, Perlis; Group B: Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Terengganu.
TODAY: Group A: Perak v Pahang, Penang v Kelantan; Group B: Kuala Lumpur v Negri Sembilan, Selangor v Malacca.
TOMORROW: Group A: Perlis v Kelantan, Perak v Penang; Group B: Terengganu v Malacca, Kuala Lumpur v Selangor.

For country or club?

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation’s (MHF) stand to bar national coaches from handling Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) clubs took their coaching committee as well as the affected coaches by surprise, and a meeting will be held next week to iron out some technicalities.
Coaching committee chairman Dr Balbir Singh said he had used a precedent which allowed national coaches to be actively involved in the MHL, but the National Sports Council is now against it.
“Under the previous chairman (Datuk R. Yogeswaran) is was a practice to allow coaches under the NSC payroll to also be hired by clubs for the MHL, but since the NSC and also the MHF council is against it for this season, I will call for a meeting next week to sort out some matters which arose from the decision,” said Dr Balbir.
The national coaches in question are Tai Beng Hai, who used to coach Maybank, K. Dharmaraj (Ernst & Young) and Nor Saiful Zaini, Nor Azlan Bakar, K. Rajan and Lailin Abu Hassan who are all Tenaga employees and also TNB club coaches.
“I believe there is going to be a problem with the TNB team as all their employee-cum-coaches will not be able to coach their own club. This is among the problems which the committee will discuss next week. However, we will abide by the decision taken by the MHF council,” said Dr Balbir.
The MHF took the stand on Saturday, when they held their Annual General Meeting in Kuantan. The council wanted their coaches to watch the matches from the sideline and scout for talent instead.
The stand has its pros-and-cons, and some of the coaches felt that their welfare should be taken care off, before such decisions are taken.
“Take for example a coach who is earning RM750 per month for being an assistant at the age-group level. It is unfair not to allow him to coach a club and earn extra money as well as experience in the MHL,” said a coach who did not want to be identified.
“There are also coaches who have not been paid for months, and I believe arranging for their long over-due pay- cheque should be a priority, followed by monthly pay, if the MHF want us to become scouts instead of coaches.
“All the said coaches live in Kuala Lumpur, and it is difficult to support a family with the allowance we receive from the NSC, if we are not allowed to coach clubs to earn extra income,” said another coach.
The MHL Premier Division starts on Dec 4 with a Charity Shield match between Sapura and TNB at the Tun Razak Stadium.
The other teams in the League are UniKL, KL Hockey Club, Nur Insafi and Maybank. The MHF have yet to release the team lists, as many teams have been made coach-less.

MHF still keen on foreign coach

THE Malaysian Hockey Federation (MHF) will make a concrete stand on a foreign coach when its management committee meets on Dec 13.
At yesterday's annual general meeting in Kuantan, it was decided that a foreign coach, if possible, be hired as Malaysia have four major tournaments next year.
"We have a few foreign coaches in mind and a decision will be made when the management committee meets. The national team will be playing in the AHF Champions Trophy, the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Azlan Shah Cup next year and we need to prepare early," said MHF vice-president Datuk Dr S.S. Cheema.
Tai Beng Hai has been interim coach for the past one year, while the MHF looked for a suitable candidate.
On another matter, the MHF council decided to reverse the coaching committee's decision to allow national coaches at the various age groups to coach Malaysia Hockey League Premier Division teams.
"The coaching committee (chaired by Dr Balbir Singh) had suggested that national coaches be allowed to coach club teams, but the council decided otherwise.
"We felt that it would be better for the national coaches to remain on the sidelines and conduct talent-scouting rather than be directly involved in the MHL," said Cheema.
MHF president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah also decided there be a random dope-testing conducted during the MHL.