THE Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division has produced a surprise leader after three matches, and it looks like Maybank’s trust in youth has paid off.
And the same can be said about the young UNiKL-Ibil side, who stanched a point from the foreign-based Nur Insafi after two defeats.
“Last year we blooded some young players, and they were a little shaky. But it paid off in the last three matches this season, and we are looking forward to the remaining match es with confidence,” said Maybank coach S. Velappan.
UNiKL-Ibil have five Project 2013 players, while the rest were ‘picked from here and there.”
“Initially we had difficulty in fielding a side as all the top players were already attached with other clubs. So we took in five Project boys, and then had to source the others from the reject pool,” said UNiKL-Ibil coach I. Vickneswaran.
The average age of the UNiKL-Ibil team is 20, and they did well to hold more experienced foreign players from Nur Insafi to a 2-2 draw.
The trust in local youth paid off, while the trust in players from India and Pakistan has only brought Nur Insafi two defeats and a draw.
Nur Insafi has the likes of Indian national midfielder V.S. Vinaya and Pakistani forward Mohamed Nadeem, as well as Pakistan penalty corner flicker Imran Warsi.
However, the youth of UniKL-Ibil still managed to hold them to a draw.
And off the pitch, it looks like the fans are still shying away from the Tun Razak Stadium even though some quality matches have been played to date.
The MHL will take a break and resume on Jan 2 at the Universiti Sains Malaysia grounds, and hopefully the fans in Penang are more responsive.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
MAYBANK 3 3 0 0 9 2 9
KLHC 3 3 0 0 10 4 9
SAPURA 3 1 0 2 7 7 3
TENAGA 3 1 0 2 5 5 3
UNIKL 3 0 1 2 2 8 1
NUR INSAFI 3 0 1 2 4 11 1
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The best? hardly....
FIH Men's WorldHockey All Stars 2009.
The WorldHockey All Star Teams 2009 were selected by visitors of the official website of the FIH www.worldhockey.org. Out of the hundreds of people voting, the FIH created the Men’s and Women’s All Star Team. The composition of each team is 18 players and two coaches.
Salman Akbar (PAK)
Goal keeper
Pol Amat (ESP)
Midfielder
Simon Child (NZL)
Forward
Jamie Dwyer (AUS)
Forward
Moritz Furste (GER)
Midfielder
Myung Ho Lee (KOR)
Goal keeper
Ashley Jackson (ENG)
Forward
Mark Knowles (AUS)
Defender
Barry Middleton (ENG)
Midfielder
Maximilian Muller (GER)
Defender
Teun de Nooijer (NED)
Midfielder
Eddie Ockenden (AUS)
Midfielder
Jong Ho Seo (KOR)
Forward
Rob Short (CAN)
Midfielder
Prabhjot Singh (IND)
Defender
Austin Smith (RSA)
Defender
Taeke Taekema (NED)
Defender
Christopher Zeller (GER)
Forward
Coaches: Ric Charlesworth (AUS) & Markus Weise (GER)
UniKL-Ibil's victory in draw
UNIKL-Ibil took their chances well to hold Nur Insafi 2-2 in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier League at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday.
Nur Insafi, even with 16 foreign players, were made to sweat for the point, as the youthful UniKL side came back into the match twice, and were unlucky not to have collected full points.
Eighteen-year-old Noor Faez Ibrahim was in top flight, and it earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
Nur Insafi took the lead off Pakistan penalty corner specialist Imran Warsi in the ninth minute, but Faez replied with a well taken penalty corner in the 20th minute.
The boys then held the experienced foreigners at bay for the remained of the first half, but in the 51st minute, Sundeep Michael scored in the run of play.
However, UniKL players turned a penalty corner into a penalty stroke, and Razali Zulkipli flicked home for the
“I am still seething from the 3-0 defeat we suffered against Maybank on Friday, but the players made up with the draw against experienced foreign players.
“We could have won if not for the missed sitters, but I am still happy with my players because they showed maturity in their approach today,” said UniKL coach I. Vickneswaran.
Maybank remained unbeaten when they edged Tenaga Nasional 1-0 with the goal coming in the 54th minute from former international K. Gobinathan’s penalty corner at tempt.
“We have a good blend of youth in our side this year, and beating TNB is especially sweet as they have many current internationals in their side,” said Maybank coach S. Ve lappan.
IN the last match of the day, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club beat Sapura 4-2. Sapura took the lead off S. Kuhan in the 25th minute, only to see Razie Rahim pulling off the equaliser in the 40th minute.
However, KLHC scored three more off Chua Boon Huat (46th), Azlan Misron (51st) and Ismail Abu (64th).
Kuhan again scored for Sapura in the 65th minute, but time was not on their side.
The Premier League will take a weeks break as players celebrate the Christmas weekend, and the action will begin on January 2 at the Universiti Sains Malaysia grounds.
RESULTS: Maybank 1 TNB 0, UniKL 2 Nur Insafi 2, KL Hockey Club 4 Sapura 2.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
MAYBANK 3 3 0 0 9 2 9
KLHC 3 3 0 0 10 4 9
SAPURA 3 1 0 2 7 7 3
TENAGA 3 1 0 2 5 5 3
UNIKL 3 0 1 2 2 8 1
NUR INSAFI 3 0 1 2 4 11 1
Nur Insafi, even with 16 foreign players, were made to sweat for the point, as the youthful UniKL side came back into the match twice, and were unlucky not to have collected full points.
Eighteen-year-old Noor Faez Ibrahim was in top flight, and it earned him the Man-of-the-Match award.
Nur Insafi took the lead off Pakistan penalty corner specialist Imran Warsi in the ninth minute, but Faez replied with a well taken penalty corner in the 20th minute.
The boys then held the experienced foreigners at bay for the remained of the first half, but in the 51st minute, Sundeep Michael scored in the run of play.
However, UniKL players turned a penalty corner into a penalty stroke, and Razali Zulkipli flicked home for the
“I am still seething from the 3-0 defeat we suffered against Maybank on Friday, but the players made up with the draw against experienced foreign players.
“We could have won if not for the missed sitters, but I am still happy with my players because they showed maturity in their approach today,” said UniKL coach I. Vickneswaran.
Maybank remained unbeaten when they edged Tenaga Nasional 1-0 with the goal coming in the 54th minute from former international K. Gobinathan’s penalty corner at tempt.
“We have a good blend of youth in our side this year, and beating TNB is especially sweet as they have many current internationals in their side,” said Maybank coach S. Ve lappan.
IN the last match of the day, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club beat Sapura 4-2. Sapura took the lead off S. Kuhan in the 25th minute, only to see Razie Rahim pulling off the equaliser in the 40th minute.
However, KLHC scored three more off Chua Boon Huat (46th), Azlan Misron (51st) and Ismail Abu (64th).
Kuhan again scored for Sapura in the 65th minute, but time was not on their side.
The Premier League will take a weeks break as players celebrate the Christmas weekend, and the action will begin on January 2 at the Universiti Sains Malaysia grounds.
RESULTS: Maybank 1 TNB 0, UniKL 2 Nur Insafi 2, KL Hockey Club 4 Sapura 2.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
MAYBANK 3 3 0 0 9 2 9
KLHC 3 3 0 0 10 4 9
SAPURA 3 1 0 2 7 7 3
TENAGA 3 1 0 2 5 5 3
UNIKL 3 0 1 2 2 8 1
NUR INSAFI 3 0 1 2 4 11 1
Saturday, December 19, 2009
KLHC edge TNB 3-2
KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) edged Tenaga Na sional 3-2 in the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Premier Division at the Tun Razak Stadium yesterday (18-12-09).
Both sides parades a healthy dose of national players, and the win has placed KLHC as the ‘team to beat’ in the six-team tournament.
Fairuz Ramli handed Tenaga the lead in the fourth minute, but a minute later Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin dazzled with his skills and nailed the equaliser.
KLHC then took the lead off Megat Azrafiq in the 13th minute, and the score stood until the breather.
Amin Rahim flicked in the equaliser for Tenaga in the 54th minute, only to see Sukri Mutalib deliver the winner for KLHC in the 60th minute.
In another match, Maybank beat UniKL-IBIL 3-0 with goals from Azammi Adabi (26th), Suhaimi Ibrahim (60th) and Norikram Sulaiman (70th).
In the last match of the day, Sapura beat Nur Insafi 4-0 with a hat-trick from Rodhanizam Radzi (2nd, 5th, 41st) and Redza Maadun (68th).
“We have placed ourselves in a good position with two wins, but it is too early in the League to start dreaming big. We must beat Sapura tomorrow (today) and keep up the momentum as the rest of the teams are also improving with every match,” said KLHC coach R. Vivekanandan.
The two-week rest allowed KLHC to bond as a team, but Vivekanandan said his charges can perform much better.
“We will be playing the same teams again, and there must be constant improvement in tactics, if we want to lift the title.
“The penalty corner variations, defending and attacking, is also crucial as all the teams have good flickers. And even though we won against Tenaga today (yesterday), I would say it was a 50-50 match, and we barely collected the three points.”
RESULTS: Maybank 3 UniKL 0, KL Hockey Club 3 TNB 2, Nur Insafi 0 Sapura 4.
TODAY: Maybank v TNB (4.30pm), UniKL v Nur Insafi (6.30pm), KL Hockey Club v Sapura (8.30pm). All matches at the Tun Razak Stadium.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
MAYBANK 2 2 0 0 8 2 6
KLHC 2 2 0 0 6 2 6
SAPURA 2 1 0 1 5 3 3
TENAGA 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
UNIKL 2 0 0 2 0 6 0
NUR INSAFI 2 0 0 2 2 9 0
Both sides parades a healthy dose of national players, and the win has placed KLHC as the ‘team to beat’ in the six-team tournament.
Fairuz Ramli handed Tenaga the lead in the fourth minute, but a minute later Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin dazzled with his skills and nailed the equaliser.
KLHC then took the lead off Megat Azrafiq in the 13th minute, and the score stood until the breather.
Amin Rahim flicked in the equaliser for Tenaga in the 54th minute, only to see Sukri Mutalib deliver the winner for KLHC in the 60th minute.
In another match, Maybank beat UniKL-IBIL 3-0 with goals from Azammi Adabi (26th), Suhaimi Ibrahim (60th) and Norikram Sulaiman (70th).
In the last match of the day, Sapura beat Nur Insafi 4-0 with a hat-trick from Rodhanizam Radzi (2nd, 5th, 41st) and Redza Maadun (68th).
“We have placed ourselves in a good position with two wins, but it is too early in the League to start dreaming big. We must beat Sapura tomorrow (today) and keep up the momentum as the rest of the teams are also improving with every match,” said KLHC coach R. Vivekanandan.
The two-week rest allowed KLHC to bond as a team, but Vivekanandan said his charges can perform much better.
“We will be playing the same teams again, and there must be constant improvement in tactics, if we want to lift the title.
“The penalty corner variations, defending and attacking, is also crucial as all the teams have good flickers. And even though we won against Tenaga today (yesterday), I would say it was a 50-50 match, and we barely collected the three points.”
RESULTS: Maybank 3 UniKL 0, KL Hockey Club 3 TNB 2, Nur Insafi 0 Sapura 4.
TODAY: Maybank v TNB (4.30pm), UniKL v Nur Insafi (6.30pm), KL Hockey Club v Sapura (8.30pm). All matches at the Tun Razak Stadium.
STANDINGS
P W D L F A Pts
MAYBANK 2 2 0 0 8 2 6
KLHC 2 2 0 0 6 2 6
SAPURA 2 1 0 1 5 3 3
TENAGA 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
UNIKL 2 0 0 2 0 6 0
NUR INSAFI 2 0 0 2 2 9 0
Friday, December 18, 2009
...but the Indians know better
LAHORE: The India Hockey Federation has expressed its inability to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to organise a four-nation tournament, a dress rehearsal, before hosting the 2010 World Cup, mainly because it was facing problems in making security arrangements due to the participation of the Pakistan team in the quadrangular tournament.
Well informed sources told Dawn that the IHF asked the FIH that though it could make maximum strict security arrangements for the mega event to be held in Feb-March, to organise a four-nation tournament involving Pakistan, needs extraordinary security arrangements and that could not be possible for just a dress-rehearsal competition.
The FIH had asked the IHF to organise the said tournament, with the entry of Pakistan as a must, as it would help to check security arrangements before the World Cup. The tournament was proposed for January.
The strained political relations between India and Pakistan after the Mumbai attack in Nov 2008 had suspended bilateral sports activities between the two countries. Due to it cricket ties as well hockey have been seriously affected.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), which is searching for some international matches desperately, as part of their preparations for the World Cup now is focusing much on the alternate plan to play some matches against European teams at neutral venues in Dubai.
Sources said a development in this regard could be made in the next couple of days.
Dawn
Well informed sources told Dawn that the IHF asked the FIH that though it could make maximum strict security arrangements for the mega event to be held in Feb-March, to organise a four-nation tournament involving Pakistan, needs extraordinary security arrangements and that could not be possible for just a dress-rehearsal competition.
The FIH had asked the IHF to organise the said tournament, with the entry of Pakistan as a must, as it would help to check security arrangements before the World Cup. The tournament was proposed for January.
The strained political relations between India and Pakistan after the Mumbai attack in Nov 2008 had suspended bilateral sports activities between the two countries. Due to it cricket ties as well hockey have been seriously affected.
The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), which is searching for some international matches desperately, as part of their preparations for the World Cup now is focusing much on the alternate plan to play some matches against European teams at neutral venues in Dubai.
Sources said a development in this regard could be made in the next couple of days.
Dawn
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