Pahang in KL's path to glory

NATIONAL No 1 penalty corner flicker Amin Rahim blew a penalty stroke, but then delivered the winning goal to take defending champions Kuala Lumpur into the Razak Cup final at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca yesterday.
KL will now play Pahang, who beat Armed Forces 3-1 in the other semi-final, to decide who is crowned the 49th champion.
KL received a penalty stroke in the 28th minute when Terengganu were leading 1-0 off a Faisal Saari penalty corner in the 26th minute.
But Amin's weak attempt was saved by Terengganu goalkeeper Mohamed Hafizuddin.
However, the defending champions kept pressing and drew level in the 32nd minute through Nabil Fiqri, who broke free on the right and sent home a reverse stick attempt into goal.
Amin then made up for his penalty stroke blunder by converting a penalty corner in the 57th minute.
"I salute Terengganu as they made us work hard to play in the final. But we missed a handful of early sitters which made matters difficult," said KL coach I. Vickneswaran.
For Terengganu it was the end of a super tournament. "There is no shame in losing to the defending champions. We will now have to work harder for the bronze," said Terengganu team manager Saberi Salleh.
In Division Two, Selangor will play Negri Sembilan for the title, after they beat Kedah 3-1 and Perlis 3-2 respectively.
RESULTS -- S-finals, Div 1: Pahang 3 Armed Forces 1, Kuala Lumpur 2 Terengganu 1; 5th-6th: Perak 11 Penang 3; 7th-8th: Malacca 2 Johor 3.
Div 2: Negri Sembilan 3 Perlis 2, Selangor 3 Kedah 1; 5th-6th: Sabah 6 Kelantan 1; 7th-8th: Project 2017 1 Sarawak 0.
TODAY -- Div 1, Final: Kuala Lumpur v Pahang (6pm, Picth I); 3rd-4th: Armed Forces v Terengganu (5pm, Pitch II).
Div 2, Final: Negri Sembilan v Selangor (4pm, Pitch I); 3d-4th: Perlis v Kedah (3pm, Pitch II).

Pahang stun Perak to make last four

PAHANG stole the thunder in Division One of the Razak Cup when they whipped silver medallists Perak 4-1 in their final Group B match at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca yesterday.
Coach Izwan Suhardi will now guide Pahang against Armed Forces in the semi-finals while Terengganu will meet Kuala Lumpur .
Pahang do not have any national players in their side, and only former international, Ismail Abu, powered them into the semi-finals by playing a sterling role in all three group matches. Perak, on the other hand, had plenty of national players but they were a jaded lot yesterday.
Ismail gave Pahang the lead from a brilliant solo run in the second minute to give his team a dream start. The other goals came from Hafiz Zainul (43rd), Ahmad Kazamirul (54th) and Aminuddin Abu (63rd). Former national skipper Azlan Misron scored Perak's consolation in the 57th minute.
"We were the underdogs, so I told the players to be more defensive and rely on counter-attacks, and they scored four," said Izwan.
In Division Two, Negri Sembilan kept their winning streak intact when they beat Sabah 6-4 in Group B and will play Perlis in the semi-finals. Perlis had lost to Selangor 3-1. In the other semi-final, Selangor will meet Kedah, who beat Sarawak 2-1 yesterday.
Negri, the early favourites in Division Two, feel they have a 50-50 chance of beating Perlis.
"We are a young side and only skipper Marhan Jalil and midfielder Madzli Ikmar are the two players with any experience so I fear inconsistency in the knockout stage," said Negri coach S. Chandran.
"Perlis, on the other hand, are a hardworking side and in Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, they have a reliable goal scorer and match winner."
Project 2017 ended last in Group A after their 3-2 defeat to Kelantan and will play Sarawak, the bottom placed team in Group B, for the seventh-eighth spot.
RESULTS -- Division One (Group A): Johor 1 Penang 4, Armed Forces 2 Kuala Lumpur 3; Group B: Pahang 4 Perak 1, Malacca 2 Terengganu 2; Division Two (Group A): Project 2017 2 Kelantan 3, Perlis 1 Selangor 3; Group B: Sarawak 1 Kedah 2, Sabah 4 Negri Sembilan 6.
TODAY -- S-finals: Division One: Pahang v Armed Forces (6pm; Pitch II), Kuala Lumpur v Terengganu (8pm, Pitch I); Division Two: Negri Sembilan v Perlis (5pm, Pitch II), Selangor v Kedah (4pm, Pitch I).

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.