Saturday, March 27, 2010

Johor hold KL 1-1

JOHOR made a strong second half comeback to hold Kuala Lumpur to a 1-1 draw in Division One of the Razak Cup in Kuantan yesterday.
KL took the lead off Tajol Rosli in the 15th minute, but a penalty corner attempt from Baljit Singh Sarjab in the 68th minute gave Johor half the spoils.
KL coach Nor Saiful Zaini sees this hiccup as a wake-up call for his players.
"The players were made to understand today (yesterday) that they are not the champions in this tournament, and unlike the past, it is not going to be a walk in the park into the final," said Nor Saiful, as KL have 19 Razak Cup titles under their belt.
"We had plenty of chances in the first half, and a total of six penalty corners, but failed to score the second goal which we went looking for in the second half.
"Instead, we had to share points because Johor dug deep and relied on counter attacks, while our forwards were blunt," said Nor Saiful.
Johor coach Gurmit Singh lamented the fact that they could have walked away with full points,
"There was total commitment from my players and we had the match in hand in the secon half as KL players looked tired after pressing hard in the first half.
"However, I am still happy that we stole the thunder from KL, and I am looking forward to a better fnish than last year (Johor were fourth)," said Gurmit.

RESULTS: Division One -- Kuala Lumpur 1 Johor 1, Armed Forces 2 Penang 3, Malacca 0 Perak 2; Division Two: Group B: Terengganu 3 Pahang 5, Selangor 7 Brunei 0.
TODAY: Rest Day
TOMORROW: Division One -- Armed Forces v Malacca (3pm), Penang v Johor (5pm), Negri v Kuala Lumpur (7pm); Division Two: Police v Kedah (3pm), Sabah v Singapore (5pm).
All matches at Pitch I and II of the Kuantan Stadium.