KL shoot themselves to open Group A

JOHOR delivered the upset of the day in Division One when they held Razak Cup defending champions Kuala Lumpur to a scoreless draw in Group A at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca yesterday.
In another Group A match, Armed Forces were held to a 2-2 draw by Penang, and the semi-finalists in this group will only be decided on Tuesday.
In Group B, Perak placed themselves in contention for a spot in the last four when they outclassed hosts Malacca 4-1.
“Against Armed Forces (where Johor lost 2-0) my players were overconfident and paid the price. But against KL today (yesterday) they played to their true form and now we have a slim chance of playing in the semi-finals,” said Johor coach Gurmit Singh.
The Johor toast was their goalkeeper Hairi Rahman, who saved five penalty corners which were executed by the country’s No 1 Amin Rahim and No 2 flicker Razie Rahim.
“Johor played a solid defensive game and that’s why we ended up sharing points. Their player of the day was goalkeeper Hairi who made some crucial saves during play and penalty corners.
“Now, we will have to wait for the Johor-Penang match at 6pm on Tuesday, as we play at 8pm against Armed Forces. It will be a difficult match against the Army men, who have proven that they are a fit bunch,” said KL coach I. Vickneswaran.
in the Penang-Forces match, the Army men took a sixth minute lead when Zulkifli Abdullah scored, but the Islanders drew level four minutes later through Izwan Firdaus.
Forces regained the lead in the 46th minute when Azri Hassan slipped the ball between the pads of the onrushing Penang keeper Nazih Nawang.
However, Penang never gave up and in the 60th minute Rashid Bahrom scored to share the spoils.
In Division two, Perlis were the only team from Division two which qualified for the semi-finals when they beat Kelantan 6-2 in Group A.
RESULTS: Division One (Group A) -- Armed Forces 2 Penang 2, Kuala Lumpur 0 Johor 0.
Group B: Malacca 1 Perak 4, Terengganu 1 Pahang 1.
Division Two (Group A): Perlis 6 Kelantan 2, Selangor 2 Project 2017 2.
Group B: Sabah 2 Kedah 3, Negri 4 Sarawak 1.
TODAY: Rest day.
TOMORROW: Division One (Group A) -- Johor v Penang (6pm, Pitch I), Armed Forces v Kuala Lumpur (8pm, Pitch I)
Group B: Pahang v Perak (4pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Terengganu (5pm, Pitch II).
Division Two (Group A): Project 2017 v Kelantan (7.30am, Pitch I), Perlis v Selangor (9am, Pitch I).
Group B: Sarawak v Kedah (7.30am, Pitch II), Sabah v Negri Sembilan (9am, Pitch II).

STANDINGS

DIVISION ONE

GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
K LUMPUR 2 1 1 0 6 3 4
FORCES 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
PENANG 2 0 1 1 5 8 1
JOHOR 2 0 1 1 0 2 1

GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
TERENGGANU 2 1 1 0 5 3 4
PERAK 2 1 0 1 6 5 3
PAHANG 2 0 2 0 3 3 2
MALACCA 2 0 1 1 3 6 1

DIVISION TWO

GROUP A
P W D L F A Pts
PERLIS 2 2 0 0 8 3 6
SELANGOR 2 1 1 0 12 4 4
PROJECT 2017 2 0 1 1 3 4 1
KELANTAN 2 0 0 2 4 16 0

GROUP B
P W D L F A Pts
NEGRI 2 2 0 0 8 2 6
SABAH 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
KEDAH 2 1 0 1 4 6 3
SARAWAK 2 0 0 2 2 7 0

Perak back in the running..

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PERAK put themselves back in the running for a place in the semi finals of the Division One when they defeated hosts Malacca 4-1 at the MPMBB Stadium Bukit Serindit in Malacca.
Still smarting from their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Terengganu the previous day, Perak turned on their power to score three goals in the second half to out a dent the aspirations of Malacca, who now have to defeat Terengganu in their final preliminary round match on Tuesday.
Perak have three points while Malacca have one point, courtesy of their 2-2 draw against Pahang on Saturday night.
And all eyes will be on the final match of the day where Pahang take on Terengganu in the east coast derby. A win for Terengganu will assure them of a spot with Perak, Malacca and Pahang battling it out for the final berth.

KL held 0-0 by Johor

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DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur were held to a scoreless draw by Johor in the Group A match of the Tun Razak Cup at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit thus evening.
The result throws the group wide open as all four teams, KL, Johor, ATM and Penang can make the cut for the semis.
This us due to the fact that Armed Forces were held to a 2-2 draw by a fighting Penang side.
KL hold the edge as they have 4 points, the same as ATM while Johor and Penang have a point each.
Johor adopted a defensive strategy, having almost the entire team behind the ball for most part of the match.
But KL could not even find a way through via penalty corners despite having the nations two top strikers from that department in the likes of Mohd Amin Rahim and Mohd Razie.
And KL were guilty of being too hasty thus muffing several good build ups that fizzled in the last quarter of the pitch.

Nur Hrsikesa star for Kedah

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KEDAH bounced back from their opening match defeat in the second division of the revived Tun Razak Cup when they scored in the final minute in their 3-2 win over Sabah.
And on the adjacent pitch of the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit, minnows Perlis were the first team to book a place in the last four of Division Two when they hammered Kelantan 6-2.
Kedah had to win against Sabah following their 4-1 defeat at the hands of Negri Sembilan yesterday.
And they got off to a great start when Nur Hrsikesa Mohd Murni converted a penalty corner in the 15th minute.
But Sabah were on level terms in the 33rd minute through Mohd Soffian Kamaruddin.
Kedah surged ahead when Nur Hrsikesa found the target off a second penalty corner in the 41st minute. Sabah fought bravely to once again draw level through Larry Lian who picked up a penalty corner rebound to score eight minutes before time.
But Nur Hrsikesa had the final say as his completed his hattrick in the 70th minute but more importantly ensured Kedah stayed in the hunt for a semis spot.
Kedah will play Sarawak on Tuesday while NS takes on Sabah.
For Perlis , the toast of the team was Mohd Siful Hafiz Jaafar who scored four goals to book his team's spot in the semis.
Having defeated Projek 2017 with a 2-1 scoreline, Perlis were in their element as they dominated the match.
Siful was on target in the 5th, 8th, 42nd and 48th minutes while the other two Perlis goals were scored by Azroy Azeman (4th minute) and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin ( 65th minute).
Kelantan, who lost 10-2 to Selangor on Saturday, got their goals through the efforts of Shahrul Anuar Ibrahim (39th and 59th minutes).

Negri move closer to semis

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NEGRI Sembilan inched closer to a place in the semis for Division Two of the revived Razak Cup when they defeated Sarawak 4-1 at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit in Malacca.
And on the adjacent pitch, Projek 2017 put themselves back in contention for a last four place when they held fancied Selangor to a 2-2 draw in a match the youngsters really should have won.
With six points from the two wins registered thus far, NS had defeated Kedah 4-1 in their opening match on Saturday, they need a draw in their final group match against Sabah on Tuesday to seal their spot.
Had it not been for a last minute goal by Kedah in their 3-2 win over Sabah earlier, NS would have already qualified.
But with a healthy goal difference of plus 6, NS can afford to lose their last preliminary round match and still make the last four.
NS scored their goals through Ganeisha Tamil Chelvam ( 8th and 60th minutes), Azraie Mohd Azizan ( 18th minute) and M. Rageshsawaran ( 33rd minute) while Sarawak hot their consolation through the efforts of Jadiel Saidi ( 50th minute).
The Selangor v Projek 2017 match was a thriller as both teams created enough chances to win the match.
But hasty finishing coupled with the heat denied both teams in a match that the youngsters showed why their future was bright as they matched their more fancied opponents.
Selangor took the lead against the run of play when Noor Mohammad Othman converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute.
But within a space of two minutes the tide turned against Selangor as the young Projek side not only drew level but took the lead.
In the 33rd minute skipper Nor Azrul Abdul Rahman scored off a penalty corner and a minute later Muhd Azwar Abdul Rahman put his team ahead.
Selangor were spared the blushes when Faridzul Afiq Mohammad scored ten minutes from time.
Selangor will now have to defeat Perlis for a place in the semis. A Selangor defeat coupled with a Projek 2017 win by six goals or more against Kelantan will send the youngsters into the semis.
The last preliminary round matches will be played on Tuesday as Monday is a rest day.