MHL: Local players carry the load at mid-way

FIVE teams in the Premier Division of the Malaysia Hockey League have invested heavily on foreign imports, but local players are the ones who have carried the load for the front-runners.
  For starters, double champions Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) are unbeaten after six matches as penalty corner flicker Razie Rahim nailed eight goals and is now the current joint-top scorer.
  Faizal Saari of Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) is chasing Razie, also on eight goals, even though he played one match less after being red carded for verbally abusing and showing the middle finger to umpire P. Elangovan when playing against Sapura.
  The two locals are top-scorers in a league which has 22 foreign players.
  And in Faizal's absence against UniKL on Sunday, THT found a new local hero to keep them afloat in chasing their first League title.
  Syamiru Aiman, who will turn 21 on Dec 27, scored four goals against UniKL to give his side a 5-2 win. His sizzling form on a heavy pitch, saved the blushes for THT who have invested in five South Koreans as well as some of the best local talent in MHL.
  "Syamiru played for Terengganu in the recent Malaysia Games (scored two goals in bronze playoff to help beat Penang 4-2) and was a regular in the first two games until my five Korean imports arrived.
  "Against UniKL, since I did not have the services of suspended strikers Faizal and Firhan (Ashaari) Syamiru was given more time and he delivered the crucial three points for us," said THT coach Sarjit Singh.
  Syamiru's four field goals were scored in the eighth, 16th, 31st and 34th minutes while the fifth was delivered by seasoned international Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin.
  "The pitch (in Kuala Terenggau) was heavy after a torrential downpour, and our penalty corners could not be executed as the push-out was slow to reach our Korean flickers, but Syamiru delivered for us with four field goals," said Sarjit.
  As for Maybank, they benched their German import goalkeeper Moritz Knobloch against Sapura, and local boy Shahrul Azaddin played a good game to help the Tigers steal one point in a 3-3 draw.
  A former coach, who declined to be named as there is a gag order from Malaysian Hockey Confederation president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, said teams are wasting their time and money on foreign imports.
  "It looks good for the MHL to have foreign players, but in the long run, when the money dries up, teams which are developing local youth will be the survivers.
  "There is a precedent, as Yayasan Negri Sembilan were the best with their imports, but when the money dried up, the team also died while teams like Tenaga Nasional are still active in the MHL," said the coach.
  Tenaga are the only all-local outfit in the MHL, and they have give the rest a tough fight and are standing proud with three wins and three defeats at No 3 on the standings.
  On another matter, Tengku Abdullah said that the draft of the new MHC constitution has been sent to the Sports Commissioner's office for endorsement.
  "While I'm not sure if the minutes of the EOGM has been sent to the Sports Commissioner, the draft of the amended constitution has been submitted," said Tengku Abdullah at a football function in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
  The Sports Commissioner has said that the date for the MHC elections could not be set as he is still awaiting for the minutes of the month-old EOGM from the MHC.


MHL STANDINGS

                                   
              P W D L F A Pts

KLHC          6 6 0 0  22    6  18
TERENGGANU    6 5 0 1  27    12 15
TENAGA        6 3 0 3  11    11  9
SAPURA        6 1 2 3  11    19  5
MAYBAN        6 0 3 3  11    16  3
UNIKL         6 0 1 5  4     22  1

KLHC edge closer to League title..

KUALA Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) slammed  Tenaga Nasional 3-1 to start their Malaysia Hockey League Round Two with a bang at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
  The unbeaten four-time consecutive double champions, who had beaten Tenaga 5-3 in the Charity Shield, were in a mean mood as they went out searching for their ninth League title.
  However, KLHH's clean run was marred when Nabil Fiqri was red carded in the 49th minute.
  KLHC got their goals off Fareed Ahmad from Pakistan (12th), Nabil Fiqri (13th) and Harrison Page (25th), while Amin Rahim scored for Tenaga in the 39th minute. 
  "Nabil claims he was hit first by Tenaga player (Azammi Adabi) and he retaliated and was flashed the red card. But being an experienced (national player) he should have checked his temper. He will surely miss the next match (against Maybank) but we have the strength on the bench to replace him," said KLHC coach K. Dharmaraj.
   Dharmaraj believes his charges do not need to place the pressure on themselves by playing for high scores, as three points would do.
  "We need to keep the winning momentum, and the margin is not important to me, as we play to keep the League title," said Dharmaraj.
  Interestingly, both the red cards in the MHL has been flashed to national players, as the first was to sidelined Faizal Saari from Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) last week.   
  In another Premier Division match, Sapura started on a low note but went on to hold Maybank to a 3-3 draw.  Maybank's goals were scored by Jiwa Mohan (10th, 42nd) and Haseem Khan (46th), while the Sapura goals came off Pakistan import Khasif Ali (21st, 23rd) and Muhammad Zubair (55th).
  THT  were lucky to win 4-2 against UniKL in Kuala Terengganu yesterday, as the University side scored first and were at 2-2 at one stage. The star-studded THT were rescued by a low-key player Syamiru Aiman who scored  four goals (eigtht, 16th, 31st and 35th) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin (55th). The UniKL goals were scored Nor Aqmal (second) and Phillipp Stahr (26th). 
   RESULTS: Tenaga 1 KLHC 3; Maybank 3 Sapura 3; THT 5 UniKL 2.

STANDINGS

                                    P W D L F A Pts

KLHC                        6 6 0 0  22    6      18
TERENGGANU    6 5 0 1  27    12     15
TENAGA                6 3 0 3  11    11       9
SAPURA                6 1 2 3  11     19     5 
MAYBANK           6 0 3 3  11    16      3
UNIKL                   6 0 1 5  4    22      1

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.