It's Olak again!

08/06/1998

OLAK .... 2 MMC .... 1
THE absence of skipper Syayrim Uda Karim was hardly felt as Old La
Sallians of Klang were crowned the MHF-Milo-NSC National Junior double
champions at Tun Razak Stadium last night.
The League champions started slowly but once they settled down, Malacca
Municipal Council (MMC) found themselves in a dither, largely due to the
absence of skipper Chua Boon Huat, whose appeal to reduce a yellow card
offence to green was rejected by the tournament's technical committee.
Nevertheless, Chua received the Most Outstanding Player award.
The first half belonged to Olak but good defending by MMC goalkeeper S.
Kumar denied them the lead. MMC could hardly take the ball out of their
own semicircle for a good 20 minutes but Olak, who received two penalty
corners, just could not find the target.
In the 25th minute, MMC finally crossed the centre line and won their
first penalty corner. A neat tap by Norhanafi Omar found Chan Hock Choon
and Olak goalkeeper Saiful Azhar had to stretch to the limits to save the
shot.
Olak skipper Mohamad Nadzli had the best chance in the 30th minute when
he went solo on the left but Kumar charged out and stopped him at the top
of the semicircle.
The match degenerated to a crawl in the final five minutes and both
teams looked relieved when the halftime horn sounded.
When play resumed, Olak again took the game to MMC's semicircle and
earned their third penalty corner in the first minute. The first attempt
by Nadzli hit goalkeeper Kumar's pads and rebounded.
A goalmouth melee ensured and Faizal Daud hammered to the top of the net
for the lead. MMC were shaken out of their slumber and S. Sarawanan came
face-to-face with Saiful in the 40th minute but he missed a golden
opportunity to equalise.
Kumar was in his element to stop Olak from increasing their lead. In the
56th minute, MMC went on one of their rare forays with Zaharin Zakaria
charging into the semicircle. Eleven Olak players were in the semicircle
and there was utter confusion but Zaharin stayed calm to slam in the
equaliser.
Olak never gave up, and seven minutes later Muhamed Amin made a neat
pass to Redzuan Ponirin at the top of the semicircle. Redzuan sent a shot
which saw Kumar diving the wrong way. Olak received RM40,000 for their
victory.
"Credit belongs to all the Olak players who played their hearts out in
the tournament. The RM40,000 that came with the overall title will be
shared among the players. It is their money," said Olak assistant team
manager Joseph de Silva.
Malacca coach Eugene Lee was not disappointed despite the defeat. "This
scratch team made the final on their first attempt, what more can a coach
ask for?"
The fight for third placing was so intense that Electrical Switchgears
Automation (ESA) and Johor Sports Council (JSC), who were held 1-1 at full
time, took the match into penalty shootout.
ESA went home winners 7-6 and the RM10,000 that came with it. ROLL OF HONOUR
Best Goalkeeper: Saiful Azhar (Olak).
Most outstanding player: Chua Boon Huat (MMC)
Topscorer: Syayrim Uda Karim (Olak)
Man of the Match: Amin Rahim (Olak)
Fairplay: Kedah Sports Council
(END)