MHL : Tenaga to play defensively against leaders Ernst and Young

Tenaga Nasional seem to know exactly what they have to do to stop league champions Ernst and Young when they clash at the KL Hockey Stadium tonight.

Tenaga coach Lailin Abu Hassan said they would adopt a defensive approach to stop the free-scoring Ernst and Young in this Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) Division One top-of-the-table clash.

It is vital for Tenaga, who have eight points, to reel in Ernst and Young, who lead the standings with 12 points, as the Division One race reaches the halfway stage today.

A win for Ernst and Young could see them go five points clear if third-placed Sapura also falter in their match against the National Juniors today.

Lailin said it would be risky to play an open game against Ernst and Young, who have scored 20 goals in four matches.

“We have to be cautious and rely on counter attacks to get the goals,” he said yesterday.

“Ernst and Young are a complete team with good all-round strength. It will be foolish to play an open game against them. They have capable midfielders and forwards who can all score.”

Tenaga, who have two wins and two draws thus far, were a big disappointment last weekend when they dropped four points.

Lailin’s team have been playing an exciting brand of attacking game, with their players going on the attack right from the word go.

But they have also been leaking in goals and that cost them dearly last week.

Against Sapura, they were leading 1-0 with minutes to go when they let in a late goal to end up sharing points. Then, against Maybank they played a similar game and had to come from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw.

“We have players who are good going forward but our problem lies with our finishing. The players are missing too many chances,” said Lailin.

“Against Ernst and Young we cannot allow them to take the lead. They have players who can hurt us ... we cannot give them space to attack us. We have to be careful at the back.”

Tenaga and Ernst and Young will each be missing their star forwards in S. Selvaraju and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin respectively. Both players are injured.

But it shouldn’t be a problem as both players have not featured for their teams since the MHL started on Oct 17 .

Meanwhile, last season’s Division Two champions Nur Insafi will be gunning for their first win in the top flight when the play Maybank today.

The Penang team, who have nine foreign players, have lost all four matches thus far and will be hoping for a change of fortune as the first round of matches come to an end.