Project 2017 the spark in Razak Cup

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

Larissa's naked pledge a jinx for Paraguay..

BUENOS AIRES: The kindest thing fans could say about Argentina and Brazil after this year's Copa America ended in a 3-0 romp for Uruguay in the final againstParaguay would be that both South American giants remain a work in progress.

However, fans will be disappointed with Praguay's defeat for another reason as South American model Larissa Riqueime had promised to run naked if Paraguay wins.

This is the second time she was spared to strip, as she also made a pledge to run naked on the streets if Paraguay wins the 2010 World Cup.

KL shoot themselves to open Group A

JOHOR delivered the upset of the day in Division One when they held Razak Cup defending champions Kuala Lumpur to a scoreless draw in Group A at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca yesterday.
In another Group A match, Armed Forces were held to a 2-2 draw by Penang, and the semi-finalists in this group will only be decided on Tuesday.
In Group B, Perak placed themselves in contention for a spot in the last four when they outclassed hosts Malacca 4-1.
“Against Armed Forces (where Johor lost 2-0) my players were overconfident and paid the price. But against KL today (yesterday) they played to their true form and now we have a slim chance of playing in the semi-finals,” said Johor coach Gurmit Singh.
The Johor toast was their goalkeeper Hairi Rahman, who saved five penalty corners which were executed by the country’s No 1 Amin Rahim and No 2 flicker Razie Rahim.
“Johor played a solid defensive game and that’s why we ended up sharing points. Their player of the day was goalkeeper Hairi who made some crucial saves during play and penalty corners.
“Now, we will have to wait for the Johor-Penang match at 6pm on Tuesday, as we play at 8pm against Armed Forces. It will be a difficult match against the Army men, who have proven that they are a fit bunch,” said KL coach I. Vickneswaran.
in the Penang-Forces match, the Army men took a sixth minute lead when Zulkifli Abdullah scored, but the Islanders drew level four minutes later through Izwan Firdaus.
Forces regained the lead in the 46th minute when Azri Hassan slipped the ball between the pads of the onrushing Penang keeper Nazih Nawang.
However, Penang never gave up and in the 60th minute Rashid Bahrom scored to share the spoils.
In Division two, Perlis were the only team from Division two which qualified for the semi-finals when they beat Kelantan 6-2 in Group A.
RESULTS: Division One (Group A) -- Armed Forces 2 Penang 2, Kuala Lumpur 0 Johor 0.
Group B: Malacca 1 Perak 4, Terengganu 1 Pahang 1.
Division Two (Group A): Perlis 6 Kelantan 2, Selangor 2 Project 2017 2.
Group B: Sabah 2 Kedah 3, Negri 4 Sarawak 1.
TODAY: Rest day.
TOMORROW: 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

Perak back in the running..

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

PERAK put themselves back in the running for a place in the semi finals of the Division One when they defeated hosts Malacca 4-1 at the MPMBB Stadium Bukit Serindit in Malacca.
Still smarting from their 4-2 defeat at the hands of Terengganu the previous day, Perak turned on their power to score three goals in the second half to out a dent the aspirations of Malacca, who now have to defeat Terengganu in their final preliminary round match on Tuesday.
Perak have three points while Malacca have one point, courtesy of their 2-2 draw against Pahang on Saturday night.
And all eyes will be on the final match of the day where Pahang take on Terengganu in the east coast derby. A win for Terengganu will assure them of a spot with Perak, Malacca and Pahang battling it out for the final berth.

KL held 0-0 by Johor

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

DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur were held to a scoreless draw by Johor in the Group A match of the Tun Razak Cup at the MPMBB Stadium in Bukit Serindit thus evening.
The result throws the group wide open as all four teams, KL, Johor, ATM and Penang can make the cut for the semis.
This us due to the fact that Armed Forces were held to a 2-2 draw by a fighting Penang side.
KL hold the edge as they have 4 points, the same as ATM while Johor and Penang have a point each.
Johor adopted a defensive strategy, having almost the entire team behind the ball for most part of the match.
But KL could not even find a way through via penalty corners despite having the nations two top strikers from that department in the likes of Mohd Amin Rahim and Mohd Razie.
And KL were guilty of being too hasty thus muffing several good build ups that fizzled in the last quarter of the pitch.