Malaysia

BY S. RAMAGURU

KUALA LUMPUR: Leaders Sapura have a two-point advantage over Tenaga Nasional and Ernst and Young in the race for the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) title.

But former champions Maybank, who are already out of the race, hold the key in deciding the winners of the league this season. The Tigers play against Sapura today and they can dent the hopes of the defending champions with a win or a draw.

Sapura lead the 11-team league with 21 points. All the top contenders have played eight matches.

Maybank are aware that Tenaga and Ernst and Young will be looking at them to play the spoiler’s role effectively.

Maybank coach S. Vellapan said yesterday: “We busted our chances to stay in contention with the draw against SAS Pahang last week.

“But it'll a matter of pride to go for a win over Sapura. Three points can help put us among the top three and it will give us a good seeding for the quarter-final stage.”


CHAIRIL: Presence of veteran striker will add more bite to Maybank’s attack.
Maybank will again look to veteran goal poacher Chairil Anwar to deliver the goods. Charil missed the first seven matches because of injury. He made a return to action against Dolphin last Sunday and scored four goals in the 9-0 win.

Vellapan said Chairil will start against Sapura and his presence will provide more bite to the front line.

“Chairil may not be that fit but his experience in the circle is invaluable. He is very good at deflecting shots at goal and the four goals against Dolphin showed that he still has the knack to get into the right position in the D.

“We will certainly start with him in the line-up. The younger players will also benefit playing alonside an experience player.”

Sapura skipper S. Kuhan said that they needed to work harder and play as a unit against the speedy Maybank.

“Maybank are no easy meat. They have some very good players. They have trained together for a long time and work well as a unit,” said Kuhan.

After Maybank, Sapura will be up against Sultan Ahmad Shah (SAS) Pahang.

Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) were the team chasing Sapura and could have taken the league title to be decided on goal difference. But they were beaten 2-5 by Tenaga last Sunday and are virtually out of contention for the title. They are now in fourth place on 18 points.

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