THE Razak Cup has proven to be a tough tournament, even for early favourites, as only Perlis in Division Two has qualified for the semi-finals after two days of close battles at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca.However, the silver lining of the tournament are Project 2017, made up of 16-year-olds, but are in the running for a spot in the semi-finals in Group A of Division Two after they narrowly lost 2-1 to Perlis and drew 2-2 with Selangor.
In Division One, defending champions Kuala Lumpur have the best penalty corner battery on the country, but drew 2-2 with Johor and will now have to beat a physically fit Armed Forces to reach the semi-finals in Group A. Forces, Penang and Johor also are in the running for a last-four spot.
In Group B, the surprise charge to the top came from Terengganu, but hosts Malacca, Pahang and Perak are all knocking at the knock-out door, and today’s matches are crucial for every team.
“Yes, mathematically we are in the running for a semi- finals spot, but we shot ourselves in the foot in the earlier matches which I feel should have given us full six points,” said Project 2017 coach Lim Chiow Chuan.
The coach injected seven new players after the Qualifier and feels his charges should have easily beaten Perlis and Selangor if not for intimidation and rough play which gave his charges stitches.
“I am not complaining about the rough tackles as my players are not afraid to take on of the older state players. However, the umpires should be more vigilant to stop direct hits to the face as two of my players had to be stitched up after being hit with hockey sticks on the face,” lamented Chiow Chuan.
For the coach, the Razak Cup has provided all that he was looking for to make his charges more confident.
“This is a team for the future and I am proud of their commitment and fighting spirit. We will strive to beat Kelantan tomorrow (today) and hope Perlis beats Selangor by a big margin, as our goals average is not that good and we might just miss the semi-finals this time, but in the future, I see a very strong side in this set of players,” said Chiow Chuan.
TODAY: 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
