KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Perak were held to a 1-1 draw by a fighting Terengganu in Division One of the Razak Cup at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil Saturday.
Perak scored first off a field attempt from Haziq Samsul in the 27th minute, but Terengganu fought back to share points with a strike from Najmi Farizal Jazlan in the 37th minute.
Both goalkeepers also played a pivotal role in this draw. Seasoned former national player and now with the national coaching set-up Roslan Jamaluddin made some brilliant saves, and at the other end, former Junior World Cup goalkeeper Hazrul Faiz Sobri saved more than five point-blank shots.
National player Fitri Shaari who stayed back from the Asian Champions Trophy to attend his Convocation at Universiti Malaya, was the back-bone of Terengganu.
And how did Terengganu skipper Fitri feel about the draw: "Disappointing, a really disappointing draw. We had a few clean shots at goal but my forward line could not convert the chances and we ended up sharing points in a match that we should have won."
Terengganu next play Penang Sunday.
"We can't afford to drop anymore points, and so, we need to minimise mistakes and be sharper in the opponents semi-circle to keep our sights on playing in the final," said Fitri.
The men's Division One and Two is being played on a round robin format, and the top-two teams play gold.
RESULTS: Men's Division One: Perak 1 Terengganu 1, Malacca 0 Kuala Lumpur 0, Penang 0 Johor 4.
Division Two: Police 4 Singapore 2, Kelantan 1 Armed Forces 4, Selangor 1 Pahang 5.
Women's Group A: Selangor 3 Police 3, Kuala Lumpur 5 Singapore 1.
SUNDAY: Men's Division One: Johor v Kuala Lumpur (4pm, Pitch I), Perak v Malacca (4pm, Pitch II), Penang v Terengganu (6pm, Pitch I).
Women's Group A: Kuala Lumpur v Police (9.30am, Pitch II), Malacca v Selangor (9.30am, Pitch I); Group B: Pahang v Armed Forces (7.30am, Pitch II), Penang v Terengganu (7,30am, Pitch I).