KL face AIS in showdown

28/01/2003

KUALA Lumpur were lucky to scrape through their semi-final match against
Pahang and will now meet New South Wales AIS in the final of the National
Under-21 tournament at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil today.
While KL could only beat Pahang 3-1, NSW AIS humiliated Perak 10-2 in
the second semi-final to signal their intention of taking the cup to
Australia.
But KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini, although admitting that they were lucky
to beat Pahang yesterday, said he aims for the cup to remain on Malaysian
soil.
"We were very lucky to win today (yesterday) because Pahang played one
of their best matches and almost over-ran us in the first half. Even our
second goal was a lucky break as the Pahang goalkeeper dived in the wrong
direction, thinking that Fairus Hamsani was going to make a cross.
"But saying all that, I still have confidence in my boys to keep the
title in Malaysia after the final horn is blown tomorrow (today)," said
Nor Saiful Zaini.
KL struggled to score their first goal but Tajol Rosli kept running
circles around the Pahang players and in the 31st minute his pass was
deflected in by Azlan Misron for the first goal.
When asked why he played Tajol for the entire 70 minutes, Nor Saiful
Zaini said: "Look at the bench, I do not have anyone capable of replacing
him. And even though Tajol was only playing to 45 percent of his true
capabilities in the last 10 minutes due to exhaustion, he was still
playing better than any bench-warmer was capable of," said Nor Saiful.
Tajol and the rest of the KL players were jeered and booed for the
entire 70 minutes of play because they were accused of throwing away the
match against Perak 3-1 on Monday to deny Johor a chance to play in the
semi-finals.
It was no surprise that the jeering was led by Johor players with some
of the other coaches joining the chorus.
Every time Tajol or Azlan received the ball, they were booed and to a
certain degree it did disrupt their game. But in the end, Tajol kept his
cool and was instrumental in planning all three KL goals.
Pahang equalised in the 48th minute off a Zulkifli Abdulah field goal
and the match looked like touch-and-go at that moment.
But Pahang, who were defending well until the final 15 minutes, opened
up their game looking for the winner and were punished by the speedy KL
players.
This time, Tajol's cross found Fairus Hamsani and KL went ahead again to
the dismay of the 200-odd fans at the stadium.
The goal, coupled with Pahang's top defender Megat Azrafiq being sent to
the sin bin in the 59th minute, killed off Pahang's fightback and it was
easy for Kamarudin Abdul Rahman to slot in the third in the 65th minute.
Pahang deserved a standing ovation for their determination, as only
their inexperience let them down.
"I am very happy with the way my boys have grown up since the first
match in the Under-21, but they need more time to mature into players who
can fight back from grim situations."
"The mistake we made today (yesterday) was defending for far too long.
My plan was to defend in the first half and attack in the second, but the
boys only started coming out in the 50th minute and by then it was too
late to salvage the game," said Pahang coach Izwan Suhardi.
Perak, who beat KL 3-1 in the last pool match to deny Johor the semis
ticket, were overwhelmed 10-2 by the Aussies.
NSW AIS player Brendon Booth scored in the first minute and by the 12th
minute of play, NSW AIS were 5-0 up and everyone who walked into the
stadium were wondering aloud whether the scoreboard was functioning
properly.
NSW AIS practically camped in the Perak semicircle and today against KL,
they will be hard to stop.
"We will not give up, KL have the cream of the country and it will not
be good for the development of junior hockey if we lose tomorrow (today).
So the fans can expect my boys to give their all in the final to keep the
trophy in Malaysia," said Nor Saiful, the former Malaysian skipper.
Today - 3rd-4th placing: Perak v Pahang (3.30pm); Final: Kuala Lumpur v
NSW AIS (5.30pm).
SEMI-FINAL RESULTS
KUALA LUMPUR ............3 PAHANG ................1
Azlan Misron (31st) Zulkifli Abdullah (48th)
Fairus Hamsani (58th)
Kamaruddin A Rahman (65th)
NSW AIS................10 PERAK .................2
Brendon Booth (1st) Riduan Nasir (58th, 65th)
Dane Petit (6th, 23rd)
Eli Matheson (8th)
Joel Reeves (10th, 12th)
Alex Hardman (38th, 68th)
Mathew Naylor (44th)
Darryn Booth 46th)
(END)