Defending champions Ernst and Young have opened up a seven-point lead over their opponents atop the Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Division One standings.
They can wrap up their third straight league title if they win their next two matches when the second half of the MHL season gets under way today.
Ernst and Young face whipping boys Nur Insafi at the USM Stadium today and will take a break from the MHL to play in the Asian Champion Clubs tournament from Nov 13-16.
That means their match against second-placed Sapura on Nov 19 could well be the title-decider.
But Sapura seem to think that the title race is all over.
Sapura assistant team manager Abdullah Yunus said yesterday that the league title was Ernst and Young’s to lose.
“The title fight is effectively over. Can you see them losing two matches in the second phase? We are not going to worry about the title ... our focus will now shift to the runners-up spot and the quarter-finals after that,” he said.
“There is no point trying to catch Ernst and Young. We need to stay ahead of Tenaga Nasional and Maybank for the second spot.”
After five round of matches, Ernst and Young lead the standings with 15 points, followed by Sapura and Tenaga Nasional on eight and Maybank on seven.
Tenaga coach Lailin Abu Hassan agreed that it would be difficult for the rest to catch up with Ernst and Young.
“There is simply no point in chasing them now. But we are not giving up the fight as we still have the runners-up spot to think about,” he said.
“I am more concerned about the knockout stage, where we will be defending the overall title. So we are going to use the remaining matches to fine-tune our game and be prepared for the tougher matches to come in the second round.
“Although the league title is out of our reach, we do not want to make it easy for Ernst and Young either.”
In other Division One matches today, Tenaga will play the National Juniors while Maybank will meet Sapura.
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