Terengganu beat fancied Perak 4-2

http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com/

TERENGGANU defeated Perak 4-2 in a Group B match of the revived Tun razak Cup tournament at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit Malacca this evening.
Two early goals took the fight out of the silver state and raised questions over their ability to make the semi finals.
Terengganu were in their element, using the flanks to open up the Perak defence And it paid dividends as Mohd Syafiq Nordin scored in the 21st minute. Barely three minutes later the East Coast side doubled their advantage as Ahmad Alif Nazaruddin Al-Nadhri scored.
With national players Faisal Saari, his younger sibling Fitri, Mohd Shahrun Nabil and Mohd Firhan Ashaari stringing some delightful passes, it was only a matter of time before Terengganu scored again. And the third goal came in the 51st minute as Fitri found the mark.
Perak reduced the deficit through Amir Farid Ahmad Puzi scored in the 54th minute but the fightback was snuffed when Firhan scored Terengganu's fourth goal in the 65th minute. Tajol Rosli Mohammad, who was in the centre of a dispute between Peang,Perak and KL, scored the second for Perak in the 70th minute but it was a case of a little to late for Perak.
"We did not play well at all and all credit goes to our opponents who took their chances well. It will be tough against Malacca tomorrow but it is a match that we have to win in order to have a chance to make the last four," said Perak coach Manjit Singh.
Perak have experience on their side as players like Azlan and Azli Misron, Roslan Jamaluddin, Tajol, S. Bubalan, Mohd Shukri Mutalib and Hafifhafiz Hanafi can change the course of a match with their ability. But getting them to play as a unit is something that Manjit has to do.

The Force was with Army men

By http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com/

ARMED Forces created the first upset of the revived Razak Cup tournament when they defeated Johor 2-0 at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit.
The humid conditions worked against the southerners as the fitter ATM side scored two goals in the first half to deal a severe blow to the hopes of Johor to make the last four.
ATM opened scoring in the 2nd minute through Mohd Zulkifli Abdullah who converted a penalty corner. And they went 2-0 up in the 15th minute through Ahmad Ridzuan Zainal Abidin.
Despite fielding an experienced side, with the likes of national players - Mohd Faiz Helmi, Muhammad Azammi Abadi, and former internationals Baljit Singh, S.Shanker and Megat Azrafiq Megat Termizi, Johor lacked the killer instinct within the semi circle.
"We created enough chances but failed to score and it was always going to be difficult when you concede two early goals against a fitter opponent, " said Johor coach Gurnit Singh, an ATM stalwart during his days with the Army.
For ATM, the win has brightened their chances if making the semis as they will be up against Penang in their next match on Sunday.
"It was a spirited performance and we will take it one step at a time. Playing a tournament with a tight schedule has it's advantages for us but then again we do nit have skillful players but they make it up with a determined performance on the pitch," said ATM team manager Lt. Col Azlan Shah Dato Aziz.
The Army side will go into the match against Penang with confidence having blanked the islanders 5-0 in the zonal qualifying tournament two weeks ago.

Negri rocks with four goals

By http://www.malaysianhockey.blogspot.com/

Negri Sembilan opened their Division Two campaign in the revived Razak Cup with a 4-1 win over Kedah in a Group B match at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit this morning.
Missing former national skipper S.Kuhan who is in India, NS opened scoring when Mohd Marhan Jalil converted a penalty corner in the 8th minute.
But Kedah were on level terms in the 18th minute via Nur Hriseka Mohd Murni.
However NS scored the next three goals, through Mohd Asraf Zulzali ( 24th minute), Ganeisha Tamil Chelvam ( 33rd minute) and Kavin Kartik ( 48th minute).
The Project 2017 squad however lost their opening match 2-1 to Perlis.
In a match where all goals were scored by players donning the number 3 jerseys, the Project Squad were expected to do much better.
Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin scored in the 16th minute before Muhd Fahmi Asri Amir put his team on level terms in the 49th minute. But Tengku Ahmad endured the northerners collected full points by scoring six minutes later
In the East Malaysia derby, Sabah defeated Sarawak 3-1.
Meanwhile in another Group B match former champions Selangor went on a rampage when they defeated Kelantan 10-2.
Selangor opened scoring in the 2nd minute through Noor Muhammad Othman and doubled their advantage in the 15th minute through Norhisham Shaari.
Norhisham was on target again six minutes later before Kelantan reduced the deficit through Shahrul Anuar Ibrahim in the 26th minute.
Selangor regained their three goal advantage when Faridzul Afiq Mohamad was on target in the 32nd minute but a minute after the breather Kelantan scored via Abdul Laziz Ghani to reduce the deficit to 4-2.
But that was a temporary respite as the floodgates opened with Selangor scoring through Mohd Syakir Hamzah (50th), Noor Muhammad Othman (54) Muhammad Amerullah Abdul Aziz ( 55,64) Mohd Faisal Kamaruddin (60th) and Faridzul (69).

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).