Al Ain look to come good

The Al Ain Vipers go into Wednesday's crucial league match against the Abu Dhabi Scorpions with their fate in their own hands as the inaugural Emirates Hockey League season approaches its climax. The Vipers will secure second place with a win over the third-placed Scorpions ahead of next week's play-offs and captain Ahmed Hennawi said his side can achieve that goal. "We're all pretty keyed up to win this one. We've chosen our best line-up and we beat them last time so we have the momentum going into this game," he said. "We're confident but not over confident". Having played each other three times already this season, with one win for each team, the teams are very familiar with one another.

And Vipers goalkeeper Michael Jabri-Pickett said the game between two Abu Dhabi-based teams would have an extra dimension to it. "We're the only two expat teams in the Emirate," he said. "A lot of the guys are Canadian so it's kind of like being back home". The Dubai Mighty Camels having already secured the league's top spot, while the Vipers and Scorpions seem set to meet in a best-of-three series in the post-season. "The outcome Scorpions game will show where we stand," said Hennawi. "We've picked up a couple of new players and I believe we've got what it takes to beat them over three games".