DEFENDING champions SMK Anderson of Ipoh will be out to win their eighth Champions Schools title today when they meet SMK Padang Midin of Terengganu at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium in Klang.
In the semi-finals yesterday, Anderson brushed aside SMK Datuk Haji
Abdul Kadir of Penang 4-0 while Padang Midin had to bring out their best to shut out SMK St David of Malacca 3-1.
In the last edition in Malacca in March this year, Anderson defeated SMK
Khir Johari of Kedah 2-0 and will be motivated to clinch their eighth
title since 1992.
Terengganu team manager Mohamed Zaki admitted that it will be near
impossible to deny Perak the title, while Perak manager Noor Aman was
confident his boys will not let him down in their quest for the title.
"We lost 2-0 to Perak in the Group A preliminary round and I know that
it will be tough to beat the defending champions. They have all-round
strength and in the semi-finals, they even had the luxury of benching a
few of their stars so that they will be better prepared to play in the
final.
"My boys are in high spirits and none of them are injured. That is our
only plus factor going into the final," said Zaki.
Perak rested skipper Azli Misron midway in the semi-finals and according to Noor, they did not want to risk injury.
"We played a good game against Penang and had the match under control.
That is why I rested a few of my players, including the skipper because I
did not want to risk injuries going into the final.
"We have played Terengganu in the group matches, and I am confident we will be able to defend our title tomorrow (today)," said Noor.
Perak scored two goals in each half and Penang were hardly in the fight
from the beginning. Fazreen Ekhsan scored two penalty corner goals in the 13th and 34th minutes while the third was scored by Hanif Hamzah in the 53rd and it was also off a penalty corner set-piece. Perak celebrated the victory with a 65th minute penalty corner which was converted by Mohameed Nazrin.
In the other semi-final, Terengganu's Mohamed Shahrun scored three
minutes before the breather but even with the lead, struggled midway
through the match until the 60th minute for the second goal through
Syarafi Khamis.
St David made a gallant comeback with a Mohamed Ashraf penalty corner goal in the 62nd minute but five minutes later, Shahrun converted the deciding penalty corner for Terengganu.
Results (s-finals): SMK Padang Midin (Ter) 3 SMK St David High (Mal) 1; SMK Anderson (Pk) 4 SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir (Pg) 0.
Today - 3rd-4th: SMK St David High (Mal) v SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir (Pg) 3pm; Final: SMK Anderson (Pk) v SMK Padang Midin (Ter) 5pm. Both matches at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium in Klang.
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In the semi-finals yesterday, Anderson brushed aside SMK Datuk Haji
Abdul Kadir of Penang 4-0 while Padang Midin had to bring out their best to shut out SMK St David of Malacca 3-1.
In the last edition in Malacca in March this year, Anderson defeated SMK
Khir Johari of Kedah 2-0 and will be motivated to clinch their eighth
title since 1992.
Terengganu team manager Mohamed Zaki admitted that it will be near
impossible to deny Perak the title, while Perak manager Noor Aman was
confident his boys will not let him down in their quest for the title.
"We lost 2-0 to Perak in the Group A preliminary round and I know that
it will be tough to beat the defending champions. They have all-round
strength and in the semi-finals, they even had the luxury of benching a
few of their stars so that they will be better prepared to play in the
final.
"My boys are in high spirits and none of them are injured. That is our
only plus factor going into the final," said Zaki.
Perak rested skipper Azli Misron midway in the semi-finals and according to Noor, they did not want to risk injury.
"We played a good game against Penang and had the match under control.
That is why I rested a few of my players, including the skipper because I
did not want to risk injuries going into the final.
"We have played Terengganu in the group matches, and I am confident we will be able to defend our title tomorrow (today)," said Noor.
Perak scored two goals in each half and Penang were hardly in the fight
from the beginning. Fazreen Ekhsan scored two penalty corner goals in the 13th and 34th minutes while the third was scored by Hanif Hamzah in the 53rd and it was also off a penalty corner set-piece. Perak celebrated the victory with a 65th minute penalty corner which was converted by Mohameed Nazrin.
In the other semi-final, Terengganu's Mohamed Shahrun scored three
minutes before the breather but even with the lead, struggled midway
through the match until the 60th minute for the second goal through
Syarafi Khamis.
St David made a gallant comeback with a Mohamed Ashraf penalty corner goal in the 62nd minute but five minutes later, Shahrun converted the deciding penalty corner for Terengganu.
Results (s-finals): SMK Padang Midin (Ter) 3 SMK St David High (Mal) 1; SMK Anderson (Pk) 4 SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir (Pg) 0.
Today - 3rd-4th: SMK St David High (Mal) v SMK Datuk Haji Abdul Kadir (Pg) 3pm; Final: SMK Anderson (Pk) v SMK Padang Midin (Ter) 5pm. Both matches at the Pandamaran Hockey Stadium in Klang.
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