Johor beat Pahang for semis

27/10/2002

JOHOR are virtually assured of a semi-final berth from Group B when they
beat a gritty Pahang side 2-0 in the Razak Cup at the National Hockey
Stadium in Bukit Jalil last night.
It was Johor's third win for a maximum of nine points, with two matches
in hand - against National Juniors and Kedah.
The Johor goals were scored by Arul Selvaraj in the 10th minute and
Robert Alacantara in the 14th. Pahang fought bravely after being two-goals
down, but luck was not on their side as they hit the posts several times.
In an earlier match, the Juniors were a big letdown yesterday when they
were held to a 2-2 draw by Kedah, a team comprising several ageing
players.
Although the Juniors took an early two-goal lead, they could not sustain
the pace and the end result was hard to swallow.
Eight players in the Juniors side played in the FIH Youth tournament in
Poznan and returned home with the gold after beating Germany 3-1, but
yesterday they looked like lost lambs.
Megat Azrafiq Megat Termizi scored for the Juniors in the second minute
and by the 10th, Mohamed Reduan Nasir made it 2-0. But after taking the
lead, the Juniors took things for granted as Kedah were slow in the chase
for the ball.
To the Juniors surprise, Kedah proved them wrong with a gritty
performance in the second half. Players such as 40-year-old Edwin Lambert,
Manjit Singh (38) and Satis Kumar (35), took control of the match and in
the 43rd minute, Mohamed Marzuki scored a penalty corner goal to close the
gap.
And 10 minutes later, Kedah drew level when Marzuki scored the
equaliser.
With the draw, the Juniors have five points and must beat Johor and
Negri Sembilan to make the semi-finals.
Juniors coach Stephen Van Huizen was lost for words after the match.
"They played badly today (yesterday) and paid dearly for it. Now they
must beat Johor and Negri Sembilan, both tough sides, and qualify on
merit."
In the second match, Negri Sembilan defeated Armed Forces 2-1 to stay in
the hunt for a spot in the semis.
Negri took a 2-0 lead with goals from G. Vijayan (ninth) and Suhaimi
Ibrahim (20th) but almost lost the match after a fight broke out in the
50th minute. Negri player Hasnizan Ah Sin was kicked and punched by
Forces' Nor Fauzlee but umpires D. Suppiah and Jagjit Singh, after a brief
discussion, flashed the yellow card to both payers.
Forces pulled one back in the 57th minute, but Negri held on for the
three points.
Today: Selangor v Malacca (4pm, pitch 1); Kuala Lumpur v Penang (5.30pm,
pitch 2); Negri Sembilan v Pahang (6pm, pitch 1); Juniors v Johor (8pm,
pitch 2); Kedah v Forces (8.15pm, pitch 1). Results
Juniors 2 Kedah 2; Negri 2 Forces 1; Johor 2 Pahang 0.
(END)