Sunday, August 16, 2009

Malacca in hunt for final ticket

MALACCA placed themselves in contention to play in the final when they beat Kuala Lumpur 3-2 in Division One of the Razak Cup yesterday.
Malacca, who top the standings on eight points, only have a weak Negri Sembilan to beat tomorrow and then wrap up their fixtures against Project 2013 on Wednesday.
Yesterday, the Malacca goals were scored by B. Namasivayam (24th), Nor Ikram Sulaiman (33rd) and Ahmad Anuar (39th). The KL goals were delivered by Sallehin Ghani (16th) and M. Kaliswaran (64th).
"We have a good chance of playing in the final after beating Kuala Lumpur, however, we need to secure at least three more points in our remaining two matches," said Malacca coach K. Balakrishnan.
And the coach is cautious of his next match, even though Negri Sembilan has been at the receiving end so far.
"Negri has hit a bad patch in this tournament, but still, we can't take them lighgtly as they have many experienced players who can turn the tide is we lose our grip," said Balakrishnan.
Project 2013, who rested yesterday, will face Johor today and Penang tomorrow -- where they are expected to be tested to the limit.
In another Division One match, Johor beat Perak 2-1 to keep their hopes of playting in the final alive. Johor are tied on seven points with the Project boys.
Perak took the lead in the ninth minute when Azlan Misron scored a field goal, but two penalty corner strikes by Junior World Cup player Nor Hafiq Ghaffar in the 63rd and 65th minutes handed Johor three points.

Project on tract

PROJECT 2013 kept their unbeaten record in Division One of the 47th Razak Cup when they held bronze medallists Perak to a 1-1 draw at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
It was the third impressive dislay from the team which is being moulded for the 2013 Junior World Cup, as they had beaten gold medallists Kuala Lumpur 5-4, silver medallists Negri Sembilan 7-0 and yesterday held the bronze medallists.
Perak took the lead off a second minute J. Davendran field attempt, but the Project boys levelled the score off a Sabri Mohamed penalty corner in the 37th minute, and held onto the draw to share points.
Perak coach Manjit singh rated the Project boys as the fittest and best prepared team in the tournament.
"I believe, like Perak, most of the other states did not have much time to tarin for the Razak Cuo and fitness s a boig problem for us. On the other hand, the Project squad is fast on attack and fast to defend, and will be hard to beat in this tournament," said Manjit.
Perak only had 13 players, including their two goalkeepers, against Project: "One player is down with fever, while two boys are preparing for examinations and two other with the Masum (Universities) tournament right now.
"We did not have reserves today (yesterday), and coupled with a short training stint, I feel we did our best," said Manjit.
Perak still have Johor, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Lumpur to battle with before they complete their group fixtures.
Meanwhile, Malacca finally won their first match in Division One when they beat Penang 2-1. Malacca drew their ealier matches against Perak and Johor with identical 1-1 scores.
Malacca took the lead in the 21st minute off B. Namasivayam and Chua Boon Huat consolidated their position in the 40th minute. Penang injected some fight into the match when Izwan Firdaus scored in the 45th mninute, but they failed to find the equalsier.
RESULTS -- Division One: Penang 1 Malacca 2, Project 2013 1 Perak 1, Johor 2 Kuala Lumpur 3.
Division Two: Group A: Armed Forces 8 Brunei 0, Singapore 3 Sabah 0; Group B: Pahang 1 Kedah 2, Perlis 1 Selangor 6.
TODAY: Division One -- Johor v Perak (Tun Razak, 3pm), Kuala Lumpur v Malacca (Tun Razak, 5pm), Penang v Negri Sembilan (Tun Razak, 7pm).
Division Two: Group A -- Armed Forces v Sabah (KLHA, 3.30pm), Police v Singapore (KLHA, 5.30pm)

DIVISION ONE
P W D L F A Pts
PROJECT 2013 3 2 1 0 13 5 7
MALACCA 3 1 2 0 4 3 5
JOHOR 3 1 1 1 8 4 4
K LUMPUR 2 1 0 1 7 7 3
PENANG 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
PERAK 3 0 2 1 4 6 2
NEGRI 2 0 0 2 0 12 0

DIVISION TWO

GROUP A

P W D L F A Pts
SINGAPORE 3 2 1 0 14 4 7
FORCES 2 1 1 0 12 4 4
POLICE 2 0 2 0 5 5 2
SABAH 1 0 1 0 2 2 1
BRUNEI 3 0 1 2 3 18 1

GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
SELANGOR 2 2 0 0 12 3 6
KEDAH 2 2 0 0 3 1 6
PAHANG 2 0 0 2 3 8 0
PERLIS 2 0 0 2 1 7 0