Malacca lifth 47th Razak Cup title

MALACCA played in patches, but it was good enough to beat Project 2013 2-1 in the Division One final of the 47th Razak Cup.
The title came with a bonus of RM10,000, while the Project boys pocketed RM7,000.
In the bronze play-off, which came with a RM5,000 purse, Kuala Lumpur
beat Johor 6-3.
It was a well balanced first half, as the score stood at 1-1, but a lone strike in the second half by the more experienced Malacca side was
enough to hand the Project boys their first defeat of the tournament.
"My players put up a good show, but the lack of experience clearly showed today, especially when executing penalty corners," said Project
coach K. Dharmaraj.
Malacca shocked the Project boys when Ahmad Anuar Sham was on target off a penalty corner attempt in the sixth minute, but the boys rallied back to level the score.
Faheed Saifullah's 14th minute field held into the half time, but a 47th minute penalty corner attempt by Amirullah Zainal was worth RM10,000.
"We did just enough to keep afloat, and I salute my players for being able to play seven matches in eight days and still manage to keep a blistering pace in the final," said Malacca coach K. Balakrishnan.
On the Project squad: "I see potential in these boys, as even though they are still very young, the maturity level is impressive," said Balakrishnan.
Meanwhile, in the Division Two final, Armed Forces beat Singapore 3-0 to lift the title which came with RM5,000. Zulkifli Abdullah scored in the 23rd minute, Ahmad Riduan made it 2-0 in the 39th minute and Forces
skipper cemented their win with a 69th minute strike.
Singapore collected RM3,000, while bronze mesdallists Selangor received RM2,000.
RESULTS -- Division One: Final -- Project 2013 1 Malacca 2; Third-Fourth: Kuala Lumpur 6 Johor 3.
Division Two: Final -- Armed Forces 3 Singapore 0; Third-Fourth: Selangor 7 Kedah 1.
ROLL-OF-HONOUR: Division One -- Best Player: Noor Faeez Ibrahim (Project); Best Player in the Final: ainal (Mal); Best Goalkeeper: Hanafi Hassan (Mal); Top Scorer: Nor Hafiq Ghaffar (Joh, seven goals); Fairplay: Johor.
Division Two: Best Player: Harjeet Singh (Sing); Best Player in the Final: Azman Hassan (Forces); Best Goalkeeper: Saiful Azhar (Sel); Top Scorer: Noor Mohamed Othman (Forces, 11 goals); Fairplay: Kedah.