Dying MHL needs talent CPR

AT Least five Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) teams are in for a windfall, if the proposed plans to revive the dying league takes wing.
Newly elected Malaysian Hockey federation (MHF) pres ident Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, in his maiden speech, had said that MHL clubs will receive more attention, and their management will be turned professional with even club-houses being built and junior teams being formed.
The 2008-1010 MHF council will meet for the first time on Saturday, and states as well as clubs have been told to submit their plans as well as their problems.
The reality is that the MHL is almost a non-event, if one takes the six-team Division One as an example.
The league has just entered its return-leg, but Ernst & Young are already the run-away winners with 18 points after six matches, while Tenaga and Sapura are a distant nine points adrift.
Maybank, National Juniors and Nur-Isafi are just making up the numbers in Division One. And although the Penang- based Nur Insafi have spent good money to buy nine foreign players, they have lost all six of their matches to date.
The MHL, as recent as 10 years ago, used to be a close tournament with at least six teams going to the wire before the winner barely breaks free, but due to lack of caliber players, it is now a one-horse race.
The president was briefed about the MHL, before he made up his mind to accept nominations, and his first council meeting must start shaking and moving clubs.
The MHL fixtures are a clear indication of how pathetic the league is. The Six Division One teams are automatic quarter- finalists, while the top-two in Division Two will join the knock- out stage.
And going by current form, the two from Division Two will be knocked out early, and Ernst & Young will finally lift their maiden MHL double -- simply because they have 12 national players in their team, while there’s not enough quality players for the other teams to pick.
The talent pool has dried up, and action, not plans are needed to revive this once prestigious tournament.

Juniors: Don't count us out

THE National Juniors coach K. Rajan sees his charges’ wild-card entry in to the Third Asian Champion Clubs Cup on Nov 13-16th at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium, as a challenge which they will stand up to.
The Juniors were invited to play in the tournament by the Asian Hockey Federation at the 11th-hour, so that two groups of three teams would play in the tournament which is being revived after a lapse of 15 years.
“The invitation came at the right time, as my players graph is on an upward trend in the MHL (Malaysia Hockey League).
“I believe, we will make an impact in the Club tournament, and even the outcome against Ernst & Young, our opening match, will be close,” said Rajan.
The Juniors are with Ernst & Young and Royal Thai Airforce in Group A, while in Group B are Olympian Village Club of Pakistan, Singapore Recreation Club and Adijon of Uzbek istan.
And the fact that Rajan will have all is players back, is another reason for his confidence.
“Seven players with other MHL teams are also back with me, and now they must fight to get their first-11 spot again.
“This is healthy competition, and I believe the players will give their best, because I aim to trim the number of trainees soon.”
The Juniors training squad, numbering 34, will be trimmed after December, and the MHL as well as the Asian Club tournament is a selection of sorts for the final Junior World Cup squad.
FIXTURES -- Thursday: Ernst & Young v National Juniors (5pm), Olympian Village Club v Adijon (7pm).
Friday: Royal Thai Airforce v National Juniors (5pm), Singapore Recreation Club v Olympian Village Club (7pm).
Saturday: Ernst & Young v Royal Thai Airforce (5pm), Singapore Recreation Club v Adijon (7pm).
Sunday: Final -- 5pm; Third-Fourth: 3pm.

Asian Wild Card for Juniors

THE National Juniors received a wild card to play in the Third Asian Champion Clubs Cup on Nov 13-16th at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium.
Initially, the tournament was supposed to be a five-team affair, with Malaysia being represented by Ernst & Young, but the Juniors were roped in to make it more exciting.
In Group A are Ernst & Young, National Juniors and, Royal Thai Airforce, while in Group B are Olympian Village Club of Pakistan, Singapore Recreation Club and Adijon of Uzbek istan.
The tournament is being revived by the Asian Hockey Federation (AFH) after a 15-year lapse, and the champions will play in the World Club Championships in Barcelona in January.
But if the National Juniors win, they will not be eligible to play in Barcelona. The Juniors are currently in training for the 2009 Junior World Cup which Malaysia and Singapore will co-host in June next year.
The Champion Clubs Cup clashes with MHL, and so the local league will be extended by 10 days.
FIXTURES -- Nov 13: Ernst & Young v National Juniors (5pm), Olympian Village Club v Adijon (7pm).
Nov 14: Royal Thai Airforce v National Juniors (5pm), Singapore Recreation Club v Olympian Village Club (7pm).
Nov 15: Ernst & Young v Royal Thai Airforce (5pm), Singapore Recreation Club v Adijon (7pm).
Nov 16: Final -- 5pm; Third-Fourth: 3pm.

Ernst & Young ahead by seven

ERNST & YOUNG edged Tenaga Nasional 3-2 to pull clear by seven points in Division One of the Malaysia Hockey League.
The match was an exciting affair, with Tenaga scoring first to send their fans into wild celebrations, but Tenaga fans turned unruly and hurled water bottles into the pitch when the final whistle blew, as they felt the umpires robbed them of a draw.
Tenaga scored off Fairuz Ramli in the fifth minute, but Baljit Singh scored the equaliser in the 19th minute. Ernst & Young started playing better after drawing level, and took the lead in the 42nd minute when Ismail Abu was on target.
Tenaga drew level in the 53rd minute off an Amin Rahim penalty corner effort, but the Ernst & Young winner was delivered by Sukri Abdul Jalil in the 58th minute.
And Tenaga had a golden opportunity to steal one point when they received a penalty corner with minutes left, but Amin’s push was deflected out by a defender, and the fans cried for the umpires blood as they felt the ball hit the defenders foot, and a penalty stroke should have been awarded.
Tenaga coach Lailin Abu Hassan had a heated talk with the umpires, but when asked what happened, he declined to comment.
“I will not comment on the umpires decision, but overall, the match was exciting, and we could have snatched a point and kept in contention for the return leg,” said Lailin.
Ernst & Young coach K. Dharmaraj was relieved as his team took a comfortable cushion into the return leg.
“We now have a good chance of retaining our league title, and even though we were lucky to win today (yesterday), still, the pressure will be less when we resume MHL play after we compete in the Asian Champion Clubs tournament (Nov 13- 16).”
The surprise package of the day were the National Juniors, who held Sapura 4-4.
RESULTS: Division One: Tenaga Nasional 2 Ernst & Young 3, National Juniors 4 Sapura 4, Maybank 5 Nur Insafi 2.
Division Two: Bukit Jalil 2 Border Forces Club 0, Bandar Penawar 5 Royal Malay Regiment 6, UNIMAP 1 Dolphins 5.
SUNDAY: Division One -- National Juniors v Tenaga Na sional (National Stadium I, 5pm), Nur Insafi v Ernst & Young (USM Stadium, 5pm), Sapura v Maybank (KLHA Stadium, 5pm).
Division Two: Alam Shah v Malay Regiment (National Stadium II, 5pm), Bukit Jalil Sports School v JLJ (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar Sports School v Border Forces Club (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), UiTM v UNIMAP (Pan damaran Stadium, 5pm).


DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
Ernst & Young 5 5 0 0 23 3 15
Sapura 5 2 2 1 13 10 8
Tenaga 5 2 2 1 11 9 8
Maybank 5 2 1 2 11 9 7
Nat Juniors 5 1 1 3 9 18 4
Nur Insafi 5 0 0 5 7 25 0

DIVISION TWO
P W D L F A Pts
RAMD 5 4 0 1 19 10 12
JLJ 4 3 0 1 9 5 9
Dolphins 5 2 2 1 20 9 8
UiTM 3 2 1 0 12 4 7
Bukit Jalil 4 2 1 1 6 2 7
Bandar Penawar 4 2 0 2 15 9 6
Alam Shah 4 1 1 2 9 10 4
UNIMAP 4 0 1 3 2 18 1
Border Forces 5 0 0 5 6 31 0

Maybank banking on six points

MAYBANK will be in a fight to remain among the top three in Division One of the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) this weekend.
After a promising start by their five national juniors, fourth-placed Maybank will find the going tough with three players injured.
“Two national juniors, Hang Edzhar and Shaheeb Shah, as well as key player Nor Ikram picked up injuries last weekend and will be out for at least two matches. Their absence will make our encounters against Nur Insafi and Sapura much tougher,” said Maybank coach S. Velappan.
“We need six points to remain among the top three when the return legs start.”
The coach also lamented that his five national juniors started off well but returned out-of-shape after the 10-day festival break.
The National Juniors are playing as an outfit in the MHL to prepare for the 2009 Junior World Cup, but Maybank have hired five who are not in the squad to beef up their challenge.
“Most of them (juniors) have their basics wrong, and their passes are not sharp which results in many overturns in the run of play. I have been working to improve on this and, hopefully, they will play better this weekend.” said Velappan.
FIXTURES — Today: Division One: Tenaga Nasional v Ernst & Young (KLHA Stadium, 7pm), National Juniors v Sapura (National Stadium, 7pm), Maybank v Nur Insafi (Seremban II, 5pm).
Division Two: Bukit Jalil v Border Forces Club (Tun Razak Stadium, 5pm), Bandar Penawar v Royal Malay Regiment (Bandar Penawar, 5pm), UiTM v JLJ (Pandamaran Stadium, 5pm), UNIMAP v Dolphins (Alor star, 5pm).

DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
Ernst & Young 4 4 0 0 20 1 12
Tenaga 4 2 2 0 9 6 8
Sapura 4 2 1 1 9 6 7
Maybank 4 1 1 2 6 7 4
Nat Juniors 4 1 0 3 5 14 3
Nur Insafi 4 0 0 4 5 20 0

DIVISION TWO
P W D L F A Pts
RAMD 4 3 0 1 13 5 9
JLJ 4 3 0 1 9 5 9
UiTM 3 2 1 0 12 4 7
Bandar Penawar 3 2 0 1 10 3 6
Dolphins 4 1 2 1 15 8 5
Bukit Jalil 3 1 1 1 4 2 4
Alam Shah 4 1 1 2 9 10 4
UNIMAP 3 0 1 2 1 13 1
Border Forces 4 0 0 4 6 29 0