Faizal Saari in trouble again..

THE Malaysian version of Mario Balotelli got into trouble again when he showed the middle finger to umpire P. Elangovan, and will now be suspended when Terengganu Hockey team host UniKL today in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League.
  Terengganu HT's Faizal Saari, considered a wizard by some, and a trouble-maker by others, was red carded when he knocked into a Sapura player on Friday, and felt that the umpire was not being fair, and flashed the middle finger to Elangovan and uttered foul language.
  This is not the first time the 23-year-old has been in troble, as he was red carded in the Razak Cup, and also dropped from the Asian Games line-up after getting into plenty of controversies before and after the World Cup.
  "Faizal will receive an automatic one-match suspension and will not play against UniKL on Sunday (today). We will also refer his case to the management committee on Thursday where he might face further action, or will be let off with a one-match ban," said Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) Competition Committee secretary Hashim Yusoff.
  THT, second on the standings, will play university team UniKL, in Terengganu today.
  Meanwhile national coach Tai Beng Hai, who is also Sapura coach, said he will select a training squad for the World League Round Two, in Singapore on Jan 17-25, in a week's time.
  "The MHL ends on Dec 14, so I do not have much time for the World League. I will select a training squad, with the core coming from those who played in the World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
  "And if I spot any talent in the MHL, he will also receive a call-up," said Beng Hai.
  On the influx of foreign players, some of whom are well below par compared to youth who have been left out of the MHL, Beng Hai said: "It was a domino effect, as after one team bought foreign players in place of fielding local youth, the others had to follow to keep pace."
   Sapura with five foreign palayers, have only one win and one draw to show after playing five matches in Round One.
  From the six teams in the Premier Division, only Tenaga have opted out of relaying on foreign players: "We were asked by the management to source for foreign players this season, but we chose to develop our youth from feeder school SSTMI (Sekplah Sukan Tunku Mahkota Ismail) as we believe that is the best formula to help the club as well as the country in the long run," said Tenaga Nasional skipper Madzli Ikmar.
   And Tenaga's all-local cast are thirs on the standings with three wins.
   SUNDAY: Tenaga v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Maybank v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II); THT v UniKL (5pm, Terengganu).

STANDINGS

              P W D L F A Pts

KLHC          5 5 0 0  19    5      15
TERENGGANU    5 4 0 1  22    10     12
TENAGA        5 3 0 2  10    8       9
SAPURA        5 1 1 3  8     16     4
MAYBANK       5 0 2 3  8    13      2
UNIKL         5 0 1 4  2    17      1

KLHC keep clean record

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) kept a clean record entering into the Second Round when they beat UniKL 4-0 in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League yesterday.
   KLHC, with maximum 15 points, got their goals off Syamim Yusof (seventh), Razie Rahim (ninth, 50th) and Akhtar Ali (31st).
  In another match, all-local outfit Tenaga Nasional beat Maybank 2-1, even though the Tigers had five foreign imorts in their ranks.
   Maybank took the lead off Hafifi Hafiz in the 43rd minute, but Tenaga replied two minutes later off Azammi Adabi and the winner was provided by veteran MHL player Amin Rahim with a powerful penalty corner drive in the 47th minute.
   Tenaga skipper Madzli Ikmar said their main problem is with converting chances into goals, as their attack-force is a young brigade.
   "We have Shahril (Saabah) upfront and he does most of the damage, but when he is rested, the young forwardline is still not ready to make sure when presented with a chance.
   "Overall, I believe the team has done well (with three wins) and we are looking forward to a better performance in the Second Round starting Sunday (today)," said Madzli.
   RESULTS: UniKL 0 KLHC 4; Tenaga 2 Maybank 1; Sapura 4 Terengganu HT 8.
  SUNDAY: Tenaga v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Maybank v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II); THT v UniKL (5pm, 
Terengganu).

STANDINGS

                                      P W D L F A Pts

KLHC                          5 5 0 0  19    5      15
TERENGGANU       5 4 0 1  22    10     12
TENAGA                  5 3 0 2     10    8    9
SAPURA                  4 1 1 3     8     16     4 
MAYBANK             5 0 2 3      8    13   2
UNIKL                     5 0 1 4       2    17   1

Hawgood for senior team?

THE Malaysian hockey team are set to receive an Australian coach, as soon as Neil Hawgood gets a release 

from the Indian HA.

Hawgood, 52, is a former Australian player who played in the 1988 Olympics. He played seven matches, 

scoring five goals, as the Australian team finished fourth.

Hawgood is currently coaching the Indian women’s team but he is expected to sort out his contract and be 

in Malaysia before the World League Round Two in Singapore on Jan 17-25. The Australian’s contract is till 

2016.

In the World League Round Two, top seeds Malaysia will play Bangladesh, Japan, Poland, Singapore, Oman 

and Ukraine. One more team will be the winners of the last Round One tournament which will be played in 

Suva, Fiji on Dec 6-13. The teams involved are Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

After Hawgood retired as a player, he had coaching stints in London, Scotland, Queensland, Western 

Australia and now India.

The Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) has been on the hunt for a foreign coach since South African 

Paul Revington left early in the year, and has been playing musical chairs with K. Dharmaraj, Arul Selvaraj 

and now Tai Beng Hai to lead the Singapore charge.

If Malaysia finish in the top three in Singapore, they will play in the semi-finals of the World League, either 

in Argentina or Belgium, for a shot at the 2016 Olympics.

MHC officials declined to comment on the latest development, as president Tengku Abdullah Sultan 

Ahmad Shah has imposed a gag order. 

Dharmaraj: Pressure on the chasing pack..

DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are comfortable being the hare in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division as the First Round Comes to an end Friday.
  Leading by one match over early favourites Terengganu Hockey Team, KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj aims to run down his opposition by keeping a clean slate.
  KLHC play bottom-placed UniKL today, where three points are almost assured.
  "Frankly speaking, we were lucky to beat THT (2-1), and top the charts entering into the second round. Now, all my players need to do is keep winning and place the pressure on the chasing team(s).
  "We need to keep the lead until we meet THT again in Round Two at their own back-yard," said Dharmaraj.
  After UniKL, KLHC meet Tenaga again in Round Two on Sunday and for the record, the four-time consecutive double champions beat Tenaga 5-3 in Round One.
  THT started promisingly with three wins, where their star was Faizal Saari, but after the five Koreans joined them, they lost some steam.
  "We will be playing at home (Terengganu) after this and I believe we will not drop any more points and out match against KLHC in Round Two will decide the League champions. So, nothing is lost yet, and there is plenty to look forward to," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
  FRIDAY: UniKL v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Tenaga v Maybank (6pm, Pitch II); Sapura v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
  SUNDAY: Tenaga v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Maybank v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II); THT v UniKL (5pm, Terengganu).

STANDINGS

                 P W D L F A Pts

KLHC             4 4 0 0 15 5  12
TERENGGANU       4 3 0 1 14 6  9
TENAGA           4 2 0 2 8  7  6
SAPURA           4 1 1 2 4  8  4
MAYBANK          4 0 2 2 7  11 2
UNIKL            4 0 1 3 2  13 1

KLHC on a roll...

DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) turned on the power in the third quarter to beat Sapura 4-0 and register their fourth consecutive win in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League Wednesday.
  KLHC have maximum points from four matches and they are three points ahead of second placed Terengganu Hockey Team.
  Defender Razie Rahim was on the roll as he gave KLHC the lead off their third penalty corner in the 34^th minute. It was his fifth goal in four matches.
  Rashid Baharom (35th), Akhtar Ali (39^th) and Ahmad Kazamirul Nasruddin (41^st) scored the other goals for KLHC.
   FRIDAY: UniKL v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Tenaga v Maybank (6pm, Pitch II); Sapura v Terengganu HT (8pm, Pitch II).
  SUNDAY: Tenaga v KLHC (6pm, Pitch I); Maybank v Sapura (6pm, Pitch II); THT v UniKL (5pm, Terengganu).

STANDINGS

                 P W D L F A Pts

KLHC             4 4 0 0 15 5  12
TERENGGANU       4 3 0 1 14 6  9
TENAGA           4 2 0 2 8  7  6
SAPURA           4 1 1 2 4  8  4
MAYBANK          4 0 2 2 7  11 2
UNIKL            4 0 1 3 2  13 1