MHL : Reality bites as four teams now set sights on runners-up spot

The four teams chasing defending league champions Ernst and Young have thrown in the towel in the race for the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) title and will now look at finishing as the runners-up and their challenge in the knockout stage.

Sapura coach K. Embaraj summed up the feelings of the coaches and said: “For us, it’s all about getting second place. We can also turn our attention to the fight for the overall title and use the remaining matches to prepare for it.
Embaraj: ‘For Sapura it’s all about getting second place.’

“It would have been okay if we are just three or four points adrift of Ernst and Young. But we have a nine-point deficit to overcome in four matches.”

Sapura and Tenaga Nasional are on nine points while Maybank are another point adrift.

The National Juniors have five points and are still in with a chance to pip the others to second spot.

Maybank coach S. Vellapan said: “We need to work on our weaknesses before the preliminary round ends.

“We know that the battle for second place will be tough but it is within our reach.

“My players have settled down but the finishing is still poor. We need to work on that and also our penalty corner set piece moves.

“In the knockout stage, you have just one shot to make it to the next round.

“So the teams have to be well-prepared, both physically and mentally, for the challenges.”

Maybank do not have any matches this weekend because of postponements of fixtures to allow Ernst and Young and the National Juniors to compete in the Asian Champions Clubs (ACC) tournament beginning on Thursday.

Vellapan added that getting a break and a longer period to work on their game was not really a major advantage.

“We will have three matches to play in a space of five days over two weeks. It will take a toll on us and we need to be really fit to be able to handle these matches,” he said.

Maybank will also not have their full squad in training during the ACC tournament.

Five of their players are with the National Juniors.

It’s business as usual for Tenaga this weekend.

They play against Nur Insafi in Penang on Friday and will be up against Sapura on Sunday, giving them the chances to consolidate their position for the runners-up spot before the matches against Maybank and Ernst and Young.

The Maybank-National Juniors and the Sapura-Ernst and Young matches scheduled for Friday will be played on Nov 19.

And the Ernst and Young-Maybank and the Nur Insafi-National Juniors matches scheduled for Sunday will be played on Nov 26.