Harvinder Singh (left) in training with brother Kelvinder Singh.TWENTY-YEAR-OLD Harvinder Singh scored five seconds before the final hooter to hand Kuala Lumpur their 19th Razak Cup title when they beat Perak 1-0 at the Kuantan Stadium yesterday.
“We only lost one match in this tournament and sadly it was at the final stage and the title slipped from our grasps.
“However, I am still proud of my players as they played well, only the finishing was lacking today (yesterday),” said Perak coach Manjit Singh.
Kuala Lumpur coach Nor Saiful Zaini said: “We were blunt in attack, and credit is also due to Perak goalkeeper Roslan who stopped many of our attempts. The final was well balanced, and even though we had to wait until the final seconds, the feeling is great.”
Kuala Lumpur took the match to Perak in the early stages but their forwards Tajol Rosli and Mahinder Singh fumbled in the semi-circle in their haste to take an early lead.
Perak soaked in the pressure and relied on counter attacks which earned them three penalty corners in the first half, but Hairul Nizam’s attempts were blocked well by KL runners.
KL, with the best penalty corner flicker in the country Amin Rahim on their side, went into the dressing room without winning a single corner and looked a little jaded after all the hard running.
After the breather, Kuala Lumpur were at the receiving end as Perak upped the tempo but still failed to score even though they were awarded five penalty corners but Amin and Razie Rahim’s attempts were either stopped or went wide.
And just when the match was heading towards extra-time, Nabil Fiqri made a pass to M. Kaliswaran who made a flat pass to Harvinder Singh.
There was only five seconds remaining on the clock, and Harvinder raced towards Perak goalkeeper Roslan Jamalud din and flicked the ball over him and into the goal mouth for the 48th Razak Cup title.
In the Division One bronze playoff, last year’s champions Malacca came back after trailing 2-0, with a hat-trick from former national player Chua Boon Huat.
Johor took the lead off Baljit Singh Sarjab in the 14th and increased the lead off Joel Samuel van Huizen in the 20th minute, while the third goal was scored by Shaheeb Shah in the 54th minute.
Chua made it count in the 30th, 43rd and 66th minutes and Amirullah Zainul scored the other for Malacca in the 65th minute.
In the Division Two final, hosts Pahang beat Singapore 2-0 with goals from Mohamed Al-Fadhir Kasim in the 49th and Ahmad Kazamirul in the 54th minute.
ROLL-OF-HONOUR: Best Player of the Tournament: Abdul Hakim Adnan (KL); Top Scorer: Noor Khairul Azrain (Perak, six goals); Best Goalkeeper: Roslan Jamaluddin (Perak); Best Player of the Final: Harvinder Singh (KL); Fair Play: Penang.
RESULTS: Division One Final: Perak 0 Kuala Lumpur 1, Third-Fourth; Malacca 4 Johor 3.
Division Two Final: Singapore 0 Pahang 2, Third-Fourth: Terengganu 6 Police 3.
