Razak Cup: Silver medallists Perak hammer Negri 5-2

RAZAK CUP Division One silver medallists Perak got off to a super start in Group B when they thrashed Negri Sembilan 5-2 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Sunday.
  And in another Group B match, Terengganu beat Kuala Lumpur 3-2.
  Perak took a 5-0 lead with goals from Riduan Nasir (first), Hafifi Hafiz (18th, 29th), Zulhamizan Awang (27th) and Ashran Hamsani (32nd). Negri woke up late to score off G. Kavin Kartik (36th) and Sabri Mohamed (55th).
  Meanwhile, in Division Two Perlis survived a late charge to upset Selangor 2-1.
  Selangor, who beat Kedah 8-0 on Saturday, came to life in the final 15 minutes, but only managed to score one of the four penalty corners that came their way in the final quarter of the match.
  The other Group A match saw Penang beat Kedah 3-2 to go top of the group.
  The hard fought win or Perlis came at the back of a 7-3 defeat in the hands of Penang in their opening fixture.
  Former national player Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin opened scoring for Perlis in the 15th minute through a field goal while Afiq Ishak made it 2-0 in the 35th minute before Selangor's Noor Faez Ibrahim pulled one back in the 59th minute.
  Perlis coach Badrisham Che Yob was pleased that his players took the fight to Selangor as a loss would signal an end to their hopes of advancing to the semi-finals.
  "I told my players before the match to go all out, as this is a do-or-die match. Out next match is against Kedah and a win might see us in the semi-finals.
  "Our ex-national Tengku Ahmad and national junior Najmi Farizal led by example today (yesterday), but it was my junior players from the Malaysia Games squad that really deserve the praise," added Badrisham.
  Selangor coach S. Velappan believes his side were over confident after their big win against Kedah.
  "I think today my boys were overconfident as they didn't play well against Kedah but still managed to score eight. Now we face a must-win match against Penang".
  RESULTS: Division One: Group B: Perak 5 Negri Sembilan 2, Kuala Lumpur 2 Terengganu 3.
   Division Two: Group A: Kedah 2 Penang 3, Selangor 1 Perlis 2.
   Women: Group C: Malacca 1 Perak 0, Penang 4 Kedah 2; Group A: Sarawak 3 Johor 3, Pahang 3 Selangor 3; Group B: Negri Sembilan 0 Terengganu 10, Kuala Lumpur 5 Sabah 0.
  MONDAY: Division One: Group A: Pahang v Police (8pm, Pitch I), Johor v Malacca (8pm, Pitch II).
  Division Two: Group B: Sabah v Sarawak (6pm, Pitch I), Kelantan v Armed Forces (6pm, Pitch II).
  Women: Group A: Police v Pahang (7.30am, Pitch I), Johor v Selangor (7.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Arned Forces v Kuala Lumpur (9.30am, Pitch I), Terengganu v Sabah (9.30am, Pitch II); Group C: Perak v Kedah (4pm, Pitch I), Penang v Malacca (4pm, Pitch II).

Razie, Baljit rescue Police

DEFENDING champions Malacca got off to a good start in Division One of the 54th Razak Cup when they beat Pahang 3-1 at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
    And in another Division One match, newly promoted Police edged Johor 3-2, with a brace from national skipper Razie Rahim who joined Police training on May 8.
  The Malacca goals were scored by Nur Asyraf (38th) and Amirullah Zainol (53rd, 60th). Skipper Ismail Abu scored for Pahang in the 59th minute.
   As for Police, they were down 0-2 before Baljit Singh Sarjab scored in the 39th minure, and Razie gave them the three points off penalty corner attempts in the 40th and 41st minutes.
   The johor goals were scored by Izzwan mohamed in the 23rd and Azammi Adabi in the 33rd minute.
    Meanwhile in Division Two Group B, Sabah began their campaign in the TNB Razak Cup with a convincing 5-0 win over Armed Forces.
    And in the other men's Division Two matches played yesterday, Selangor thrashed Kedah 8-0 while Penang beat Perlis 7-3 in Group A. In the other Group B match, Kelantan trounced Sarawak 6-2.
   In women's Group A, Selangor defeated Sarawak 5-2 and Johor edged Police 2-1 while in Group B, Sabah were 4-1 winners over Negri Sembilan and Armed Forces walked away with a 3-1 victory over Terengganu.
    Sabah started the match on a cautious note, but began to assert themselves as the half progressed and raced to a 3-0 lead before the break as their speedy forward line began to dominate the Forces defence.
    They went ahead through a Dodi Musa field goal in the 21st minute and were 2-0 up a minute later when Forces keeper Khairul Afendy Kamaruzaman's poor clearance allowed Shello Selverius to pick up the loose ball and smash it into the back of the net.
Captain Maxhans Christi made it 3-0 with a well taken penalty stroke in the 26th minute. Dodi got his brace in the 36th and Shello wrapped the win in the 54th minute.
Sabah coach Hasrul Jidih, who drafted seven players from Sabah's Junior Hockey League squad, was happy with the result and the way his young team performed.
"The boys played well and performed much better than expected because a 5-0 win against a strong opponent like Armed Forces is something to cherish.
"We have a young squad and the target is to make the semi-finals," added Hasrul whose charges will play Sarawak next on Monday.
RESULTS: Division One: Group A: Malacca 3 Pahang 1, Johor 2 Police 3.
   Division Two: Group A: Selangor 8 Kedah 0, Perlis 3 Penang 7; Group B: Kelantan 6 Sarawak 2, Armed Forces 0 Sabah 5.
   Women: Group A: Sarawak 2 Selangor 5, Police 1 Johor 2; Group B: Negri Sembilan 1 Sabah 4, Armed Forces 3 Terengganu 1.
   TODAY: Divison One: Group B: Perak v Negri Sembilan (8pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (8pm, Pitch II).
   Division Two: Group A: Kedah v Penang (6pm, Pitch I), Selangor v Perlis (6pm, Pitch II).
   Women: Group C: Malacca v Perak (7.30am, Pitch I), Penang v Kedah (7.30am, Pitch II); Group A: Sarawak v Johor (9.30am, Pitch I), Pahang v Selangor (9.30am, Pitch II); Group B: Negri Sembilan v Terengganu (4pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Sabah (4pm, Pitch II).