Negri off to good start

Division Two (Group A): Project 2017 1 Perlis 2, Selangor 10 Kelantan 2. Group B: Sarawak 1 Sabah 3, Negri 4 Kedah 1.

Malacca (July 23): Negri Sembilan got off to a flying start in their bid to capture the Division Two crown of the 100PLUS Tun Abdul Razak hockey tournament at the Bukit Serendit stadium here today.

With the help of three penalty corner conversions, Negri Sembilan beat Kedah 4-1 in their opening Pool B match today and the warning from them is loud and clear.

They are a side packed with enough experience and in their skipper Mohd Marhan Mohd Jalil, Negeri have a reliable anchorman who can steer them to safety, when needed.

In fact it was Mohd Marhan who put Negeri on the road to victory with an eighth minute penalty corner conversion which gave the team the inspiration to lift their game to the required heights.

Although Kedah equalised in the 18th minute via a penalty corner conversion from Nur Hrsikesa Murni, it was Negri Sembilan who sailed through comfortably to add three more goals for a comfortable win.

Mohd Asraf Zulzali's field goal in the 24th minute; and penalty corner conversions from T.Ganeisha and G.Kavin Kartik in the 33rd and 48th minutes respectively, sealed Kedah's fate.

"It's always important to start off with a win but it will get tougher. I believe Sabah and Sarawak, our two other opponents will not make things easy for us. And neither am I thinking it would be any easier against them.

"But I happy that the experienced players in the team are showingt the way and helping the younger ones settle down," said Negri's coach S.Chandran.

In the other Pool B match of Division Two, Sabah beat their neighbours, Sarawak 3-1. Jadiel Sadi scored a field goal in the second minute and Mohd Shariffini Muhammad and D. Michael Plani added penalty corner goals in the fifth and 11th minutes respectively.

Sarawak's solitary goal came from Mero Muhammad Ridwan in the 58th min via a field goal.

In a Division Two Pool A match, Perlis beat the Project 2017 team 2-1 with their goals coming from ex-international Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Jalil in the 16th and 49th minutes while the Project 2017's scorer was Muhammad Fahmi Asri Amir in the 49th minute.

Selangor also got off to a heartwarming start with a 10-2 thrashing of Kelantan in their Division Two Pool A match.

They led 4-1 at the break with their goals scored by Noor Mohammad Othman in the second min via a penalty corner and then Norisham Shaari added two more in the 15th and 21st minutes and Faridzul Afiq Mohammad in the 32nd minute.

Kelantan got their only goal of the first period from Sharul Anuar Ibrahim in the 26th minute.

The second half goal scorers for Selangor were Mohd Syakir Hamzah (50th), Noor Mohamamd Othman (54t); Muhammad Amerullah Abdul Aziz(55th and 64th); Faisal Kamaruddin (60th) and Fadrizul Afiq Mohammad(69th). Kelantan's Abdul Laziz Ghani scored the team's second goal in the 36th minute.

By http://www.malaysiahockey.com.my/razakcup/

Double trouble from KL

DOUBLE FLICK: Amin Rahim (left) and Razie Rahim, will represent KL in the Razak Cup in Malacca starting tomorrow.

EIGHTEEN-Time Razak Cup champions Kuala Lumpur have the best penalty corner flickers in the country, but still, they are not good enough to be tagged as the favourites in the 49th edition which starts today in Malacca.
The tournament was incepted in 1963 and Singapore were the inaugural champions, while Kuala Lumpur only came into the picture with a win in 1982 under the Federal Territory banner.
And even though they have No 1 penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim and No 2 Razie Rahim, KL coach I. Vick neswaran does not feel too comfortable to be called the favourites.
“As the defending champions, we would again play to be in the final, however this year the team composition looks more balanced and some serious preparations have been done by states.
“I feel this edition will be tough to call, unlike previous years when the winner could be picked from the team list itself,” said Vickneswaran.
Perak and hosts Malacca, according to Vickneswaran, are some of the teams to watch our for.
“Both Perak and Malacca have good players and are capable to upset any team which looks down at them. The Razak Cup, I believe, has been re-vitalised as states are now more serious in their build-ups unlike previous years,” said Vickneswaran.
KL are in Group A with Johor Armed Forces and Penang, while in Group B are Pahang, Terengganu, Malacca and Perak.
Malacca were champions in 2005, third last year and semi- finalists in the previous six tournaments. Their trump card in the Qualifier was former international Chua Boon Huat, while they can also rely on nine players from the Under-21 squad who won the National title two months ago in Johor Baru.
TODAY: Division One (Group A) -- Johor v Armed Forces (4pm, Pitch I), Kuala Lumpur v Penang (6pm, Pitch I).
Group B: Pahang v Malacca (8pm, Pitch I), Terengganu v Perak (5pm, Pitch II).
Division Two (Group A): Project 2017 v Perlis (7.30am, Pitch I), Selangor v Kelantan (9am, Pitch I).
Group B: Sarawak v Sabah (7.30am, Pitch II), Negri v Kedah (9am, Pitch II).

Only one win to show

THE Project 2013 players played five matches against England Juniors and won one, drew one and lost three.

First Match - Drew 2-2
Second Match - Won 3-2
Third Match - Lost 1-4
Fourth Match - Lost 2-5
Fifth Match - Lost 2-5

Perak gunning for Razak Cup

PERAK last won the Razak Cup in 1992, and 19 years later, they are hoping to lay their hands on the Division One title in the 49th Edition starting in Malacca tomorrow.
The tournament will see eight teams in Division One and the same number in Division Two gunning for glory.
Perak, the reigning silver medallists, are in Group B with Pahang, Terengganu and Malacca.
Defending champions Kuala Lumpur are in Group A with Johor, Armed Forces and Penang.
“We have the players to reach the final, where the likely hurdle awaiting us will be Kuala Lumpur. However, even after playing KL in the Qualifier, we only have a vague idea of their true strength,” said Perak coach Manjit Singh.
This is because in the Qualifier, KL were without their national player in the first leg, while in the return leg, KL did not have their national juniors with them.
The same situation plagued Perak: “We have the full squad now, but have never trained together because most of them were called up for national duty.”
The four senior national players with Perak are goalkeeper Roslan Jamaluddin, Azlan Misron, Shukri Mutalib and HafiFi Hanafi,
And they can also rely on five Project 2013 players who returned yesterday from a Europe Tour where they played Netherlands and England.
“We will only leave for Malacca tomorrow (today) and the full squad will assemble for a day before we play Pahang. That should be three points for us, while the second match on Sunday will decide who tops Group B,” said Manjit.
Manjit was speaking about hosts Malacca, who had a roller-coaster ride during the South Zone Qualifier.
Meanwhile, in Division two, Group A is made up of Project 2017, Selangor, Perlis and Kelantan. In Group B are Sarawak, Negri Sembilan, Sabah and Kedah.
The Razak Cup, incepted in 1963 where Singapore won the title, has been unkind to Perak who have only lifted the trophy in 1966, 1973, 1985, 1987 and 1992.

Finally, a win for Dharma's boys

MALAYSIAN Juniors finally won their first match in the tour of Europe when they beat England Juniors 3-2 on Tuesday.
The team, preparing for the Junior Asia Cup in Malacca next year which is a qualifier for the Junior World Cup, had lost 5-1 and 6-0 to the Netherlands last week.
And on Sunday, they drew their first test 2-2 with the English.
The first goal was scored by Syamim Yusof in the 25th minute. He received a pass from Amir Farid, controlled it well before ficking the ball to the roof of the goalmouth.
The English equalised in the 17th minute, but Amir Farid gave Malaysia the lead again in the 29th minute when he beat a defender and scord off a reverse stick attempt.
Mohamed Nor Faeez consolidated the lead with a 39th minute penalty corner attempt, while ENgland narrowed the gap with a 55th minute penalty corner goal.
Malaysia had only taken one goalkeeper for the tour, and according to team manager Mirnawan Nawawi, he played a big role in the win.
"We registered our first win of the tour after a brilliant display from goalkeepeer Hazrul Faiz Ahmad in denying the English, especially during penalty corner attempts," said Mirnawan.
However, Mirnawan lamented the fact that his charges seem to lose possession after taking the lead: "We need to arrest this situation, and be more consistent in the remaining two matches against England."