Razak Cup: Nor Hidayah saves Selangor...

KUALA LUMPUR: Women's Razak Cup champions Selangor got off to a good start when they beat Kuala Lumpur in Group A Friday.
  The winner was delivered by Nor Hidayah Ahmad off a field attempt in the 11th minute.
  Selangor, who won their first title last year, will next play Police on Saturday.
  RESULTS -- Men's Division Two: Selangor 2 Armed Forces 2, Pahang 6 Singapore 0, Kelantan 2 Police 6.
  Women's Group A: Malacca 2 Singapore 0, Selangor 1 Kuala Lumpur 0.
  Group B: Pahang 2 Terengganu 0, Armed Forces 2 Penang 2.
  SATURDAY: Men's Division One: Perak v Terengganu (6pm, Pitch I), Malacca v Kuala Lumpur (8pm, Pitch I), Penang v Johor (8pm, Pitch II).
  Division Two: Police v Singapore (4pm, Pitch I), Kelantan v Armed Forces (4pm, Pitch II), Selangor v Pahang (6pm, Pitch II).
  Women's Group A: Selangor v Police (7.30am, Pitch II), Kuala Lumpur v Singapore (7.30am, Pitch I).

Razak Cup: Brian explains four guest player ruling

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) competitions committee manager Brian Fernandez (pic) Friday said the player eligibility rule in Razak Cup is to make sure states develop their own players.
  In a statement, Brian said the rule is not new and has been practised for a long time, only that it was limited to four players this year.
  Earlier, states could field as many 'guest' players as they liked provided they get release letters from states which they sign players from.
  Player eligibility rules forced Division One teams Negri Sembilan and Perlis as well as Division Two side Kedah to withdraw from the Razak Cup at the 11th hour.
  "Eligibility rule is there to make sure states develop their own talent and not rely on others to form a team. 
  "If grassroots development is carried out regularly, states would have no problem fielding a team. 
  "And as everybody knows, state-leagues are very active right now, and players should have been spotted at this level and states should no longer have problems in player-selection," said Brian.
  Perlis, Kedah and Negri had claimed that even though half of their team had Identity Cards which state they were born elsewhere, the said boys have been schooling as well as playing for them for a long time.
  Brian also said the competitions committee, chaired by George Koshy and with members from states, emphasise on development and so states should have a bigger pool of players to make sure there is no shortage.  

ACT: Pakistan 1 Malaysia 0,, til we meet again Saturday

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will play Pakistan in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat, Oman on Saturday.
  The national players ended third on the standings at the end of the pool matches, after they lost to Pakistan 1-0 Thursday.
  It was Malaysia's only defeat of the tournament as in previous matches, hey started with a 3-0 win over Japan, followed by 3-1 win over Oman, 4-2 over South Korea and a 0-0 draw against India.
  India topped the pool unbeaten, and will play Japan in the other semi-finals.
  "Sport is very simple, you can’t win Matches if you don’t score. We didn’t in the last two matches. One time without conceding (0-0 with India) and one time we didn’t put enough efforts in our counter control.
  "I believe we’ll see a match on a different pace (in the semi-finals against Pakistan again) and I’m convinced we’ll score goals in the upcoming match.
  "If you play a semi-final, you always be able to give something extra. You can’t focus on the outcome, but you can on the right approach and execution of the plans," said Malaysia coach Roelant Oltmans.
   Pakistan manager Hasan Sardar said: "“It was important for my men to taste victory against an opponent whom we will face again in the semi-finals two days later.”
   The only difference in the pool encounter was Muhammad Irfan 54th minute goal, otherwise Malaysia had a good outing but failed to nail sitters.

FINAL STANDINGS
  
         P      W       D       L       F      A        Pts


India 5 4 1 0 27 2 13
Pakistan 5 3 1 1 14 8 10
Malaysia 5 3 1 1 10 6 10
Japan 5 2 1 2 8 13 7
Korea 5 1 0 4 8 15 3
Oman 5 0 0 5 4 31 0

ACT: Malaysia 0 Pakistan 1.. rematch in semis Saturday

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's unbeaten run in the Asian Champions Trophy was finally broken when Pakistan won 1-0 in Muscat, Oman, Thursday.
  The solitary goal was scored by Muhammad Irfan in the 54th minute off a field attempt.
  However, the last pool match for coach Roelant Oltmans men was more of a warm-up ahead of the semi-finals on Saturday, where both the teams will meet again.
  The other semi-finals is between table toppers India and fourth placed Japan.
  Malaysia and Pakistan both completed the pool matches with 10 points, but Pakistan finished second due to more goals scored.
   The national players started the ACT with a 3-0 win over Japan, followed by 3-1 win over Oman, 4-2 over South Korea and a 0-0 draw against India.