The trip to Alor Setar to watch the second leg match between Terengganu and Kedah is on irrespective of the result in kT. It turns out to be a fine balance for both team after the first leg finishes in a 2-2 scoreline, giving the Canaries the advantage on away goals rule. They just need to hold out for for a 1-1 scoreline or less to advance to the last four.
For Ganu fans, the belief that their team still have the capabilities to battle against the odds is still there and waiting for them in the last four is arch-rival Kelantan who have bundled out 2010 Super League Champions, Selangor with an impressive 3-0 scoreline a day earlier in Kota Bharu.
The trip which is supposed to start after the Subuh prayer has been brought forward to an hour before midnight. mad redo1 is not really fond of night driving due to his inability to keep his eyes open to drive all the way to the Kedah capital, with the challenging East-West Route awaits.
But you have to do what you have to for the sake of the traveling party.
So with a prayer mad redo1 takes the wheel of Ms TAT, the Perodua Viva belonging to the most passionate female Ganu supporter, Ummi Munira. The departure time is around midnight and just ten minutes before two the party reaches Machang. The traffic is very smooth.
After picking up an item in Machang and filling up the tank of Ms TAT the real journey begins. The last time mad redo1 drove through this route was when the AKSARA were coming back from their trip to Taiping and Penang in 2008. The only concern now is whether he will be able to keep his eyes open, at least until they reach Grik.
Surprisingly, he can. Two and half hours after leaving Machang, he pulls up at a Mamak 24 hours restaurant in Grik. After a dose of teh tarik and two roti telur bawang he just could not keep it up anymore and leaves the driving to another guy. Then another stop in Baling for Subuh prayers and he just dozes off right until right before they enter Alor Setar.
By this time the sun has already risen and at quarter past eight they pull up into the Darul Aman Stadium parking lot. Another hearty breakfast for mad redo1, this time his choice is roti planta.
The last time he was in Kedah, it was for an assignment at the Alor Setar and Sungei Petani hospitals in 1996. During that time, there was not much time to do any sight-seeing to the extent he did not even get to go to the famous Pekan Rabu.
Well, this time Pekan Rabu is definitely there in mad redo1's agenda. With a lot of time to spare before the ticket counter opens they set off with Ummi's friend from Kedah acting as the tour guide. Thanks to her mad redo1 manages to complete his assignment of buying 'Sepat Pekasam' for his roomey.
The rest of the day is spent sleeping and resting at a inn in PJ2, Jitra.
Then the time for the match arrives. Parking is certainly a nightmare everywhere if it is a high profile like this, and for Kedah it is no exception. We park Ms TAT at a housing estate and walk to the stadium.
With no ticket in hand mad redo1 hopes to find a fellow e-fans photog to enable him to get into the stadium. Luckily he bumps into a HKC member who will be snapping photos of the match too.
Being his first experience at the Darul Aman, it is certainly understandable why it is quite an intimidating arena for the visiting team. The noise created by the Green & Yellow army certainly enable them to become the twelfth man for the home side.
mad redo1 certainly not going to delve into details of the match which ends with The Turtles suffering their fourth defeat to Kedah this season. The 3-0 scoreline makes it 5-2 on aggregate and there would not be much argument about the result among Ganu fans, who seem to be in agreement that much need to be done by the management in order to make a meaningful challenge for honours next season.
The journey back to kT is pretty quiet and mad redo1 only lasts around Baling before succumbing to his need for sleep. During the last leg, Ummi takes control of her Ms TAT and having to make it to the office she brings out all her skills and by 10am mad redo1 is safe and sound at home.
It has been a worthwhile trip after all.
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