mad redo1's sportpages & a few other things

Derby Day...

2012-01-20T15:33:00.006+08:00

...in Kuala Terengganu

The first Turtle Derby will take place tomorrow with Terengganu hosting PBDKT T-Team at their shared ground, the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. The current Super League leader know that a defeat will see them relinquishing the lead to Kelantan who are expected to get a positive result from their trip to Alor Setar to face a struggling Kedah side.

T-Team who lost their perfect record after being held to a 0-0 draw by Sabah on Tuesday are looking forward to continue their good start to the season at the expense of Terengganu. However there are a bit of concerns regarding their foreign striker, Zachariah Simukonda who despite already scoring one goal this season, seemed to be playing below par in all three matches he started so far.

Head Coach Yunus Alif already indicated that he will have to sort things out with the lanky African if his performance does not rise to the level expected from an experienced player like him. With players like Zairo Anuar Zalani and Faiz Subri who could create chances for him, he is expected to show a more clinical performance in front of goal.

Another foreign player in T-Team's book is in the opposite situation to Simukonda. Bosnian defender Bojan Petric has been a rock in the heart of the club defence which has kept three consecutive clean sheets now. However Petric's ability will be severely tested when he comes face to face with Terengganu's Francis Doe.

Doe who scored the only goal of the match on his competitive debut in Sarawak on Tuesday will be looking forward to add to his tally after being kept on the leash for so long due to the 'registration controversy' involving Terengganu and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

The Liberian brings a new dimension to The Turtles attack with his tenacity and good close control and his good vision could bring others into play too. After his goalscoring performance in Kuching, Terengganu fans will surely be looking forward to see the man they call 'Grandpa' back home in Liberia in action.

Another player looking forward to make his home debut is Erison Da Silva or better known as 'Baiano' who also contributed greatly to the win in Kuching, especially with his goal-line clearance that prevented Sarawak from scoring their equaliser. An aggressive midfielder, he also has an eye for a good pass.

As for T-Team, they know they have to win against their so called 'big brother' in order to maintain their stay at the top of the Super League and it will be no surprise if there are going to be a few tense moments as both sets of players will try to get the better of each other.

Other fixtures will see Selangor and Negeri Sembilan will try getting back on winnings ways against Sarawak and KL Felda United respectively. The Red Giants who were shocked by Felda on Tuesday are hoping their home advantage will count against The Crocs who are yet to win away this season.

Felda also are yet to win on their travels with a 3-0 defeat in Kuala Terengganu are still fresh on their mind. The Settlers will have to be at their best to get a good result against Negeri Sembilan who enjoy playing in front of their home crowd.

Sabah will take the positives from their draw against T-Team on Tuesday to make sure all three points will stay in Kota Kinabalu when they take on Singapore Lions XII. A win for the Sabahawks is going to be the perfect birthday present for their Head Coach, Justin Ganai who turns 56 today.

Johor FC are yet to collect any point at home and are hoping for a good result against Perak when the two meet at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Stadium tonight. The Bees were looking good for a point against Kelantan on Tuesday until Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scored winner for The Stags. Against The Buffaloes they hope to make good use of their home advantage and get all three points.

Bottom team Kuala Lumpur are hosting PKNS FC at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka for the only afternoon kick-off of the weekend. With both teams are yet to win this season, they are looking at this fixture as the best point to start winning especially both teams are propping up the rest of the table along with Kedah.

...

East Coast...

2012-01-18T13:02:00.001+08:00

...Rule at the Top

After three matches teams from the East Coast of Malaysia are occupying the top three spots at the top of the Super League. Despite being held to a goal-less draw by Sabah in Kuala Terengganu PBDKT T-Team continue to lead the table on goal difference over Kelantan who registered a 2-1 home victory over Johor FC.

Indra Putra Mahyuddin pleased the home crowd who had endured a goal-less first 45 minutes with the opener ten minutes into the second half but they were silenced six minutes later when The Bees levelled the score through Mohamad Khairul Ismail. National striker became the toast of the night for Kelantan when he notched the winner in the 72nd minute.

Terengganu climbed into third place after new signing, Francis Doe scored on his debut for The Turtles in the 1-0 win over Sarawak in Kuching. The Liberian started for Terengganu for the first time in a competitive match along with Brazilian midfielder, Baiano.

It was the home side that dominated the match and created a few chances but Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee performed well between the sticks to deny the home team from scoring. Then in the 36th minute Doe shrugged off the attention from three Sarawak players before unleashing a stiff shot past the unrushing Saiful Amar Sudar for the only goal of the match.

Perak who had beaten Terengganu on the opening day are also level on points with the Turtles but have an inferior goal difference. They are in fourth after defeating Negeri Sembilan 2-1 in Ipoh.

Former national striker, Akmal Rizal Rakhli scored a brace in the second half as The Buffaloes staged a comeback after Negeri Sembilan striker, Effa Owona had put the visitors ahead after five minutes.

Perhaps the biggest result of the day was the 1-0 win by Felda United over Selangor at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka which saw The Settlers moving up to fifth, leapt-frogging The Deers and The Red Giants. Midfielder Azrul Ahmad scored the only goal of the match on the half hour mark.

Lions XII recorded their first victory with a 2-1 win over bottom team Kuala Lumpur. The struggling City Boys fell behind when their defender, Aiman Syazwan put the ball into his own net four minutes before the interval. Shahdan Sulaiman increased the margin twelve minutes into the second half.

However, Kuala Lumpur were handed a lifeline in the 67th minute when Lions defender Safuwan Baharudin conceded a penalty. To compound the matter, the referee flashed the defender a second yellow card which meant the home side had to cope with just ten men.

Fazuan Abdullah converted the spot-kick to reduce the deficit. Unfortunately for Kuala Lunpur, despite their numerical advantage they just could not conjure an equaliser and in the end suffered their third successive defeat which saw them remaining at the foot of the table.

Sabah despite their point in Kuala Terengganu found themselves dropping down to ninth in the table with their Borneo counterparts Sarawak a place below them in tenth. Johor FC and PKNS FC also lost grounds, the latter failed to make use of their home ground as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Kedah in a drab match.

...

T-Team Reclaimed Top Spot...

2012-01-15T16:26:00.004+08:00

...Terengganu Began Ascending

PBDKT T-Team returned to the top of the Super League with a convincing 3-0 victory over Kuala Lumpur at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka yesterday. In the only afternoon kick-off T-Team dominated the City Boys who were playing in Melaka as their own KLFA Stadium in Cheras is currently under renovation.

T-Team skipper Zairo Anuar Zalani scored a brace. The first one coming around the half hour mark when he unleashed an unstoppable shot just from the outside of the penalty area. Foreign player Zachariah Simukonda then added the second in the 70th minute with a header from a long ball by Mohamad Hasbullah.

Then ten minutes from time Zairo notched his second of the match with his trade-mark free-kick to ensure T-Team remained as the only team with a perfect record. Goalkeeper Mohamad Iqbal Suhaimi kept his second clean sheet in as many matches.

In Kuala Terengganu later that evening, Terengganu repeated the scoreline against visiting KL Felda United to get their Super League campaign back on track after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Perak in Ipoh on Tuesday. Despite not scoring, Terengganu striker Abdul Manaf Mamat had a hand in two of The Turtles' goals.

The first was when he headed down the ball into the path of Ismail Faruqi who unleashed a low shot that beat Felda United goalkeeper, Mohamad Suffian all the way. The home crowd responded in an upbeat manner but for all their shouting and drumming the score remained until half time.

At 1-0 there was always a chance for Felda to snatch a late goal and force a draw. But Terengganu could not create a clear cut chance in order to get the cushion of a second goal. As the match went on, The Turtles forward Ashaari Shamsuddin who usually play on the left began to play more centrally.

This paid dividends as in the 73rd minute the 2010 Super League topscorer opened his account for the 2012 edition with a fine individual skill after receiving a cross from substitute, Hasmizan Kamarodin. His shot from the top of the box took a deflection off Felda United skipper Mohamad Hardi Jaafar to completely wrong footed Suffian who was already committed.

Then in the 78th minute Felda United were reduced to ten men after their defender, Mohamad Nazri Ahmad was flashed a second yellow card after bringing down Abdul Manaf just outside the penalty box.

Four minutes from time chaos reigned as referee flashed Hardi with a second yellow card after he fouled Terengganu substitute, Shamsul Kamal. It meant that Felda will play the remainder of the match with just nine men. However referee Syed Azhar Syed Kamar had failed to notice that his linesman had raised his flag for an offside against Shamsul. He quickly rectified the situation but this brought anger among the Terengganu fans.

However the home fans were rewarded for their angst when deep into injury time Abdul Manaf released Ashaari with a fine pass and his team-mate finished with a plomb, easily dispatching the ball past Suffian for a 3-0 scoreline to the Turtles.

The result saw Terengganu climbed to fifth place, behind Negeri Sembilan who won 2-0 at Johor FC, Selangor who held on to a 1-0 win over Perak at the Nasional Stadium and Kelantan who were held to a 1-1 draw by PKNS FC on Friday.

In the Borneo 'derby', it was the Hawks that came out on top with a 2-1 over Sarawak at the Likas Stadium. Michael Baird and Bobby Gonzales scored for Sabah in the first half while former Terengganu and Felda United player, K Rajan reduced the deficit with fifteen minutes remaining.

In Alor Setar, Kedah and Lions XXI remained win-less after sharing the spoils in a goalless draw. Both teams suffered opening day defeats and with just one point there were propping the rest with bottom team Kuala Lumpur.

...

T-Team Pipped...

2012-01-14T16:19:00.003+08:00

...from The Top

T-Team stay at the top of the Super League was cut short when defending champions Kelantan 1-1 draw with PKNS FC last night was enough to see The Stags overtake the club side from Kuala Terengganu with just a single point.

However they could reclaim the spot with an identical result or better when they take on Kuala Lumpur at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka this afternoon. T-Team forward, Mohamad Faiz Subri will be looking forward to add to his tally against a Kuala Lumpur side which lost their opening fixture against Sarawak in Kuching.

Sarawak meanwhile will travel to Kota Kinabalu for the Borneo 'derby'. Buoyed by their win over Kuala Lumpur, Robert Alberts boys will be keen to add the Hawks to their list of victims even though his counterpart Justin Ganai is hoping for his boys to bounce back after losing to Felda United on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Syed Adney if selected will be keen to erase the memory of his mistake that led to Felda's second goal when his misjudgment left him in no-man's land, presenting Yong Kuong Yong with a simple task of heading the ball into the empty net.

The former Kuala Lumpur player will be trying his best to help his new team in getting a good result tonight in Kuala Terengganu as The Settlers take on a Terengganu team aiming to get their season on the right track after losing in Ipoh to Perak in their first match.

With the positive news that their foreign players could be registered after FAM extended the registration deadline to 13 February, The Turtles' fans are looking forward to this match to ensure they would be challenging for the Super League title again this season.

Perak whose victory over Terengganu ensured them a winning start to the new season travel to Selangor who staged a comeback at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi against Negeri Sembilan. The match which ended in a 2-2 scoreline could change in the future as there are doubts in regards of the eligibility of one of their foreign player, Lebanese Ramez Dayoub.

Negeri Sembilan meanwhile made a short trip to Pasir Gudang to play Johor FC. The Bees won their away match against PKNS FC and would be confident of a good display against the Malaysia Cup champions whose striker, Jean Effa Owona is in a good scoring form with four goals already in two matches.

Up north, two losing sides meet at the Darul Aman Stadium as Kedah entertain Lions XII. The Canaries who suffered a 3-0 reverse in Kuala Terengganu against T-Team, will be hoping to put on a good performance in front of their passionate home crowd.

Former Kedah striker, V Sundramoorthy who is now in charge of The Lions, will also be hoping his charges are able to get over their 2-1 home defeat against Kelantan and concentrate in getting a good result and make their mark in their first season back in Malaysian football scene.

...

Stylish Win...

2012-01-11T14:20:00.004+08:00

...for T-Team

PBDKT T-Team began the 2012 Malaysian Super League season in stylish fashion with a comprehensive 3-0 over Kedah at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. The huge margin also saw the club side from Terengganu sitting at the top of the standings for the first time in their history.

New signing from Perlis, Mohamad Faiz Subri was the hero for T-Team with a brace on his debut. The first one was in the 11th minute when he unleashed a right foot shot from the edge of the penalty box that had the entire Kedah defence beaten. Then in the 28th minute, he stooped low to connect with a free-kick by Zairo Anuar Zalani which once again rendered Abdul Hadi helpless.

Then four minutes later, Zairo who was named as T-Team captain for the new season, treated the 200+ fans at the Sultan Ismail with one of his special from dead ball situation. This time his corner kick swerved and went past the already committed Abdul Hadi and into the net.

Three nil to the good and Kedah were never look capable of making a comeback from such a big deficit.

T-Team Head Coach, Yunus Alif was elated with the win and hoped that it will a launchpad that will see his team challenging for the Super League title this season. But the big test for them will be against Kuala Lumpur on Saturday at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka as T-Team try to shed the image of a yo-yo team, excellent against the big boys but mediocre against lesser opponents.

It was not all sweet for Terengganu football fans though as The Turtles failed to get their 2012 Super League campaign on a winning note. Instead they fell to a wonderful long range strike by Slovakian player, Michal Kubala with just fifteen minutes to go.

Prior to the goal, a rejuvenated Perak side took control of the match and Terengganu had much to thank their goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee who kept The Buffaloes attacks at bay on a number of occasions. However there was nothing much he could do with Kubala's strike and Terengganu must now regroup and set their mind on winning their home match against Felda United on Saturday.

Felda meanwhile played their match early in the afternoon and came out on top against Sabah. Raimi Mohamad Noor gave Felda the lead before former Kuala Lumpur player Yong Kuong Yong scoring the second after a horrendous mistake by Sabah goalkeeper, Syed Adney. The Liverpool born custodian misjudged the flight of the ball allowing Yong to head home with Adney stranded off his line.

The Settlers certainly will be looking forward to their trip to Kuala Terengganu, hoping for another good result that will maintain their title challenge momentum.

Former Terengganu Head Coach, Irfan Bakti could get some sense of satisfaction after seeing his new team Selangor coming back from two goal down to snatch a point against Negeri Sembilan, the team that wrecked his dream of winning the Malaysia Cup last season.

Negeri's foreign striker Jean Effa Owona scored a brace to give the home fans a feel good feeling going into the interval. But Amirulhadi Zainal stiff grounder reduced the deificit before Safiq Rahim levelled the score from the penalty spot.

Another Selangor side, PKNS FC could not make such a comeback against Johor FC at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya. The Bees went two goals ahead, thanks to strikes from Riduan Maon and Azi Shazril from the penalty spot. PKNS managed to reduce the deficit through Fauzan Dzulkifli, also from the penalty spot. Despite finishing with just ten men, Johor FC held on for their 2-1 win.

Sarawak marked their return to the top flight with a 2-0 win over troubled Kuala Lumpur. However fans at the Sarawak State Stadium had to wait until late in the match before K Ravindran and Hairol Mokhtar struck eight minutes between one another to give Robert Alberts men a winning start to their season.

At the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, Super League champions Kelantan came back from behind to beat Lions XII 2-1 with goals from Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and a spot kick by Mohamed Ghaddar. This was after the home crowd was uplifted when Baihakki Khaizan had put the Lions ahead early in the match.

...

Big Boys...

2012-01-10T13:15:00.004+08:00

...Coming In.

Today the big boys in Malaysian football will take to the field as the Malaysian Super League kick-off with seven matches across the nation. It is also the day which will see Singapore returning to the Malaysian football scene after leaving in 1995.

In the round only afternoon kick-off, Felda United will take on Sabah at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka at 4.45pm. Meanwhile further down south, Singapore XII host defending Super League champions, Kelantan at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7.45pm.

The Lions skipper, Shahril Ishak is wary of the East Coast team's reputation but they have made a dossier of the Stags strengths and weaknesses and now are ready to take on Peter Butler's charges. The Singaporeans are also hoping the unfamiliarity of Malaysian teams playing on an artificial pitch will be to their advantage.

Across the South China Sea, Robert Alberts' boys will face Kuala Lumpur on their return to the top flight. Last season Premier League runners-up are looking to take full points against the cash strapped City Boys who are made up with almost entirely new face for the new season.

At the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, two coaches whose teams met on the last day of the 2011 Malaysian League, will meet on the first day of this season competition. Azrai Khor Abdullah whose Negeri Sembilan team got the better of Irfan Bakti's Terengganu in the Malaysia Cup final will entertain the Kelantanese coach who this time will try his luck with the Red Giants of Selangor.

Terengganu meanwhile under new Head Coach, Mat Zan Mat Aris will have to rely on local talents at least until March after their foreign players are ruled ineligible to play in the league by FAM, despite receiving a circular stating they are able to sign them beyond the registration deadline.

FAM Secretary-General Datuk Azzudin Ahmad later apologized for the mix-up and clarified that the circular was referring to the AFC Cup competition and not the league.

The Turtles travel to Ipoh to take on The Buffaloes and after finishing last season Super League in second place, are hoping for a good start to ensure they will be able to challenge for the title again.

In Kuala Terengganu, club side PBDKT T-Team entertain Kedah at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah. After losing three influential players in Norfarhan Muhammad, Indra Putra Mahyudin and Azizi Che Rose during the close season, T-Team have strengthen their side with the signing of Selangor duo Fadzlie Saari and Iqbal Suhaimi, former Perlis striker Zachariah Simukonda and Bosnian defender, Bojan Petric.

The Canaries meanwhile have retained most of their core players and will be hoping to get a good result in Kuala Terengganu in order for them to improve on their fourth place finish last season.

...

It's Here...

2012-01-09T14:16:00.007+08:00

...Yo!

Fans of local football will be looking forward to today's round of fixture to get their fix when the 2012 Malaysian League begin with the first match in the Premier League.

Matches will begin as early as 4.45pm with Sime Darby FC entertaining Young Tigers 'B' at the Selayang Municipal Stadium while around the same time in Muar, the Muar Municipal Council will take on Perlis at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.

The rest of the fixtures will be played in the evening with Pahang taking on Johor Bahru City Council at the new home ground in Temerloh. In Pasir Gudang, Johor will play against the Royal Malaysian Police while at the USM Stadium, the university side will begin their league campaign against POS Malaysia FC.

The most awaited match will be the one in at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya where big spending Malaysian Armed Forces entertain newcomers, Betaria FC the winner of the 2011 FAM Cup competition.

Terengganu do not have any team playing in the division but these pages will try to bring you the scores and standings of the Premier League as well as the Super League.

After the season opening Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup charity match on Saturday, this will be the real deal where points are up for grabs to ensure a good start to the long journey for these team with the sole aim to be among the elite in the Super League which will begin tomorrow.

Afternoon kick-off:
Sime Darby FC vs Young Tigers B
Muar MC vs Perlis

Evening kick-off:
Pahang vs Johor Bahru City Council
USM FC vs POS Malaysia FC
Johor vs Royal Malaysian Police
Malaysian Armed Forces vs Betaria FC

Update:
Results from the above fixtures:
Sime Darby FC [2] vs Young Tigers [1]
Muar MC [7] vs Perlis [2]
Pahang [1] vs Johor Bahru City Council [0]
USM FC [2] vs POS Malaysia FC [1]
Johor [1] vs Royal Malaysian Police [1]
Malaysian Armed Forces [2] vs Betaria FC [0]

...

Tiller Tops...

2011-11-26T09:49:00.002+08:00

...till the End.

Young Kiwi skipper, William Tiller topped the qualifying round of the 2011 Monsoon Cup which also saw a contender for the WMRT title dropped out of contention. Torvar Mirsky of The Wave Muscat Team failed to finish among the top eight after losing a dramatic battle with another contender, Francesco Bruni (Bruni Racing) in the last flight.

Thus, when the quarter finals start today the only possible world champions would be fought between Ian Williams (Team GAC Pindar) and Bruni. Ironically both have been pitted against one another in the last eight draw and a win for the Brit would seal his third title.

It it is the other way around then a few more names could come into contention even though the odds would be hugely in favour of the favourable Italian to land his first WMRT title.

Tiller meanwhile has chosen to face Swedish skipper Johnie Berntsson (Berntsson Sailing Team) in the last eight while second placed Phil Robertson (WAKA Racing Team) has picked two time World Champion, Peter Gilmour as his opponent. It would be youth against experience for this two ties.

The last pairing is between Scandinavian rivals as Swedish skipper Bjorn Hansen (Mekonomen Sailing) has picked Danish Jesper Radich (Adrian Lee & Partners) as his opponent in the quarter-finals.

With the weather and current conditions fast becoming a telling factor in this year's edition of the Monsoon Cup, it will be very hard to tell who will progress to the last four of the competition.

One thing for sure, it is going to be very exciting.

...

Hansen Leads...

2011-11-24T03:12:00.000+08:00

...the Pack.

Bjorn Hansen finished at the top of the pile after the opening day of the qualifying round ended yesterday. In condition that mirrored the tournament name, the race organizer had to call in the boats four times as conditions turned for the worse with winds at around 40 knots together with very heavy rain made racing impossible.

But Hansen, skippering his Mekonomen crews made the best when the race was on and recorded victories over tour leader Ian Williams (Team GAC Pindar), fellow Scandinavian Jesper Radich (Adrian Lee & Partners) and Kiwi youngster William Tiller (Full Metal Jacket Racing) for a 3-0 finish.

Another skipper with an unbeaten record on the first day was Johnie Berntsson (Berntsson Sailing Team) who recorded wins over Damien Iehl (French Match Racing Team) and Phil Robertson (WAKA Racing Team).

Peter Gilmour also recorded two wins against Williams and Malaysian Match Racing Champions, Jeremy Koo (Abdullah Chan/KRT) but suffered a defeat at the hands of Radich. Tiller also finished with an identical score to Gilmour with victories over fellow Kiwi Robertson and Mathieu Richard (French Match Racing Team).

Koo ended the day with a 0-3 scoreline and will be looking for his first win at the Monsoon Cup in the coming days.

Torvar Mirsky (The Wave Muscat) and Francesco Bruni (Bruni Racing) managed to start positively from their sole flights, registering wins over Koo and Richard. The Frenchman lost both his races and so did Williams but it is still early days and the position could change very fast like the weather at the Pulau Duyong basin.

...

So Near...

2011-10-29T23:55:00.001+08:00

...yet so Far!

It was a final that broke so many Ganuan hearts. Their wish to see their team lifting the Malaysia Cup trophy for the first time since 2001 did not materialised after another Ganuan crushed their dream by scoring the winning goal for the opposition.

Former Terengganu forward, Hairudin Omar lived up to his reputation as a big time player by delivering the goods again for Negeri Sembilan. His strike towards the end of the match was enough to see off his former team, who he helped to their only Malaysia Cup triumph a decade ago.

It was a battle of tacticians with Terengganu Head Coach, Irfan Bakti opting to put his best line-up possible and to play their usual attacking game. However for Negeri Sembilan Head Coach, Azrai Khoor, he came with a strategy to stifle his opponent's game and that was to flood his midfield to ensure Terengganu midfielders would not be able to dictate the match.

It worked to perfection as the much vaunted Terengganu forward-line could not function effectively when they could not get their supply of passes. Every player in yellow worked hard to ensure The Terengganu players would not be comfortable on the ball.

But it was a testament to The Turtles fighting spirit and creativity that they managed to threaten the Negeri Sembilan goal on a number of occasion. Both Abdul Hadi Yahya and Ashaari Shamsudin forced the goalkeeper to work hard with their shots.

Terengganu managed to break the dead-lock in the second half. Going into the hour mark Abdul Manaf Mamat went on a solo run from a counter attack and his pass found Ashaari. The forward took a few touches before unleashing a shot which took a deflection that was enough to beat Farizal Marlias.

Negeri Sembilan came back at the Turtle but could not find the break through until ten minutes before time when a misjudgment by Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee allowed Kunanlan high ball from the left to bounce past him into the net.

It was a goal that put a damper on every Ganuan, on and off the pitch.

Negeri Sembilan were on the ascendancy and five minutes later Hairudin struck with a wonderful volley from a cross from the right. It was a goal worthy to win any final and it was.

The Setiu born player was named Man of the Match and he certainly deserved the award not for just his performance in the final but throughout the campaign as well for Negeri Sembilan.

It was a heartbreaking moment for The Turtles and their fans. But looking back it has been a good season for them with a second place finish in the Super League, their highest since the inception of the new format.

Of course, the victory in the FA Cup back in June ensured they would not be finishing the season empty-handed.

...

Fatal...

2011-10-24T02:18:00.000+08:00

...Fall

The world mourns the passing of a potential world champion with the death of Marco Simoncelli in a fatal accident during the MotoGP at the Sepang International circuit yesterday. The accident happened in round two when Simoncelli of San Carlo Gresini team, lost control of his bike and fell into the path of two other riders.

Colin Edwards of Yamaha Tech 3' team and Valentino 'The Doc' Rossi on a Ducati machine could not avoid the collision which saw Simoncelli losing his helmet. The former suffered a dislocated shoulder as the result from the collision.

Simoncelli was pronounced dead at around 5pm after efforts to resuscitate him failed. Initially the MotoGP race was red flagged and it was eventually cancelled due to safety reasons. Fans who were unaware of the severity of the incident vented their anger at the cancellation but orders were restored once the news of the fatality filtered down.

The death was the first to have occurred at the Sepang circuit and also the first in a MotoGP race since Daijiro Kato's fatal accident during the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix. However, at last year's San Marino Grand Prix another fatal accident happened that saw another Japanese ride, Showa Tomizawa losing his life.

The Simoncelli tragedy overshadowed the achievement of Malaysian rider Zulfahmi Khairuddin who recorded his best ever finish this season by finishing seventh in the 125cc category. It was the best achievement by a Malaysian rider in a decade and gave the young rider 30 points, propelling him to 17th place in the 125cc Championship.

The Banting born rider could achieve his target of finishing in the top 15 in the final round at Valencia if he could get a positive result there.

...

Turtles Rule...

2011-10-23T08:41:00.000+08:00

...as Giants Slained

After a ten year wait Terengganu finally returned to the final of Malaysia premier football competition, the Malaysia Cup. They eliminated Selangor 4-1 on aggregate which ended the Red Giants 'Mission 33' and set themselves for a 'double' after winning the FA Cup in June.

Having won the first leg 2-0 Terengganu began the second leg confidently in front of a capacity crowd at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu. Their striking trio of Abdul Manaf Mamat, Ashaari Shamsuddin and Abdul Hadi Yahya put the visitors' under pressure from the start.

However, it was Selangor who found the net first when Rudie Ramli connected with a low cross from Amirulhadi Zainal and diverted the ball past Terengganu goalkeeper, Mohamad Sharbinee Allawee.

Much to the relief of Terengganu players and fans, the assistant referee's flag was raised indicating the goal would not be counted for offside. It was a wake up call for Terengganu and they realised Selangor would not make it easy for them.

Thus they doubled up their efforts and tested Selangor goalkeeper, G. Jeevanathan in quick succession through Ashaari and Joseph Kalang Tie. However the on-loan goalkeeper stood the tests well to ensure his goal stayed intact.

Then in the 20th minute in a quick counter-attack, Hadi found Ashaari on the right wing and his delivery into the box found Manaf who took it under his control before selling a dummy to Selangor defender, Rozman Roslan. He then beat the unrushing Jeevanathan for his sixth goal of the current Malaysia Cup campaign.

The compact Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium erupted with joy as thousands of Terengganu fans celebrated the goal.

The match was played at a high tempo but there was no overly physical encounter, making the referee's job that much easier. The partnership of skipper Mohamad Mazuki and Faizal Mohamad at the heart of Terengganu defence was working well to thwart the Selangor attack.

Without their inspirational skipper, Amri Yahyah Selangor looked lost at times. Maniam decided to start with Amri on the bench, fearing he would not last the whole match as he was still recovering from an injury.

He only made his appearance in the last twenty five minutes but instead Terengganu were the one inspired when Ashaari when receving the ball from Mazlizam Mohamad from the right, lifted the ball with his toe before unleashing an unstoppable volley past Jeevanathan who dived in vain to stop the shot.

Terengganu were four goals up on aggregate and all seemed lost for Selangor. But credit to them for their fighting spirits, the Red Giants managed to pull a goal back through Safiq Rahim who came in unmarked from midfield to head home from close range.

But with three minutes of the match left, it was too little too late and when the referee blew the final whistle it was a scene of celebration at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah as Terengganu fans celebrated their team progress to their first Malaysia Cup final in ten years.

...

Away...

2011-10-19T11:57:00.000+08:00

...Advantage

It was a night of contrasting fortunes for two Terengganu representatives in the first leg of 2011 Malaysia Cup semi-finals. While Terengganu upset the more favoured 32 time winners Selangor at the Shah Alam Stadium, PBDKT T-Team suffered a 4-2 setback at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu.

Abdul Manaf Mamat put the 2011 FA Cup winners ahead inside two minutes after the match started, with a cheeky stab with his heel after the initial cross by Ashaari Shamsuddin seemed destined to go to waste. It certainly created a deathly silence among the red and yellow cladded Selangor fans while those in black and white rejoiced.

The goal was a piece of flair that should propel Manaf's name into the limelight again. Not stopping there, the striker struck the second for The Turtles just after the half hour mark, this time with a long range low shot that beat Selangor custodian, Jeevanathan all the way.

The visitors were in dreamland but they managed to keep their heads and ensured the score stayed that way until the final whistle was blown by referee, Shokri Nor. It was a big advantage for Irfan Bakti's boys who would fancy their chance in Kuala Terengganu for the second leg to advance to their second final this season.

However in Kuala Terengganu, T-Team found themselves a goal down early in the match against Negeri Sembilan when the visitors broke through on their right through S. Kunanlan. The home defence managed to clear it but it went straight to an unmarked Shahruain Abu Samah whose shot went past goalkeeper, Zairi Hafiezi.

Indra Putra Mahayuddin levelled the score a short while later with a fine header after a good cross from Mohamad Fitri Omar. But a high ball into T-Team's penalty box caused panic and their former player, Hairuddin Omar took full advantage to head Negeri Sembilan in front again.

Zairi lack of command in his area and together with his nervy display would cause his team dear. Mohamad Norfarham Muhammad equalised after a persistent display opened up the Negeri Sembilan defence for him to fire home past Farizal Marlias.

But another ball into the box caused another panic situation and in the end Hairuddin's header found the top corner of Zairi's goal to ignite another celebration among the travelling supporters. The score remained for the remainder of the half.

The home supporters were hoping for another fightback by T-Team in the second half. They pressed on early but a piece of brilliance by Kunanlan saw his shot curled past Zairi who could only watch as his goal was breached for the fourth time last night.

It was the last straw for T-Team Head Coach, Yunus Alif who immediately replaced Zairi with Mohamad Jibrail. The loanee from Pos Malaysia FC put on a good display to keep Negeri Sembilan attacks at bay but unfortunately his team-mates could not find their way again past his opposite number, Farizal.

It would be a huge task for T-Team to overturn a two goal deficit and with the disadvantage on away goals rule it would be a big miracle for the club team to progress to their first ever Malaysia Cup final.

...

Koo Again...

2011-10-10T23:30:00.000+08:00

...Jeremy Retains His MMRC Title

Jeremy Koo and his Abdullah Chan/KRT team staged a great comeback to defend his Malaysian Match Racing Championship title in a pulsating final against Hazwan Hazim Dermawan who skippered the Permai Hotel Sailing Team.

Earlier in the day, dead wind forced the postponement of the semi-finals between Koo and Masyuri Rahmat of the MAF2 team and Hazwan against the UPM Sailing Team skippered by Mohd Romzi Muhammad. Koo and Romzi were leading 1-0 after the first flight which was staged late evening yesterday.

After the lunch break, everybody took to the waters and Koo found himself 2-1 down against a determined Masyuri who qualified for his first MMRC semi-finals after finishing third in the qualifying rounds. It looked like choosing The Malaysian Navy personnel as his opponent could backfire on Koo.

However Koo fought back and in the end won the fifth race to enter the final against Hazwan who won his battles with Romzi with an identical scoreline. Thus it was Koo against Hazwan for a place at the 2011 Monsoon Cup in November.

Masyuri and Romzi would seek consolation in the Petit Final. The former improved considerably on his eighth finish in last year's edition of the MMRC and despite being disappointed at failing to close the deal while leading in the last four, was upbeat about his chance for next year's edition of the MMRC.

The Petit Final was a race to two points and the score were tied after two rounds. However Masyuri dug deep and managed to defeat Romzi in the final race.

The final itself was an intense affair with Koo managing to take the lead but the Hazwan with sound advice from Nik Asyraf Qaedi drew level and then went ahead after three flights. It looked to be all over when Hazwan managed to get Koo penalised for an offence during the pre-start manoeuvring.

This put Koo under some pressure but trusting his instinct he managed to have a good start and during this flight he and his crews went all out to ensure of a fight to the finish. They managed to negate the earlier penalty and came in first to force the 'winners take all' flight.

It was another close fight but after Koo managed to force Hazwan into an offence which incur a penalty, the winner was never in doubt. Koo crossed the finish line well ahead of Hazwan and took the pass to the 2011 Monsoon Cup as the Malaysian Match Racing Champions.

Hazwan will have another shot at the pass as he has been given entry to the Asian Match Racing Championship which would start on Tuesday.

...

Cruising Mode...

2011-09-14T08:59:00.000+08:00

...for T-Team

Terengganu club side, PBDKT T-Team recorded an emphatic 4-0 victory over the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu last night. Head Coach, Yunus Alif brought in several changes to the side that lost to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

On loan goalkeeper, Mohd Jibrail was relegated to the bench with Zairi Hafiezi making his first start in the 2011 Malaysia Cup campaign. Together with Zairi, forward Haris Safwan Kamal also made his first start in the campaign, taking the place of Shamsul Kamal Mohamad.

At first, the changes did not seem to work as T-Team failed to breach the PDRM's defence. The best chance came when Haris managed to slip inside the box and flicked the ball past PDRM goalkeeper, Muhammad Hamdan Sairi. However, Haris's effort lacked power and defender, Mohd Alif Haikal Ganeson cleared the ball off the line.

But credit to T-Team players, they continued to pile the pressure on the visitors' defence. Then from a corner taken by Zairo Anuar Zailani, PDRM defender Mohd Azrul Azman headed into his own net in his attempt to clear the ball.

As if they were woken up from a deep slumber, T-Team breached PDRM's defence again and again as the match went into stoppage time at the end of the first half. Mohd Norfarhan Muhammad earned another corner. This time Zairo played it short to Farhan who delivered a perfect cross for the running Norfazly Alias to head past Muhammad Hamdan.

It was the defender's third goal in as many matches, making him the top-scorer of his team. No guessing which was the happier coach going to the dressing room happier when referee Azham Musa blew for half-time.

The second half saw the home side created a few chances and from these chances they found the net two more times. On loan striker, Mohamad Fitri Omar reacted first when Muhammad Hamdan failed to hold a stiff shot from Zairo to open his goal account for his new team.

Then Farhan notched the fourth goal when he was put through with just the goalkeeper to beat. It was an easy task and Yunus Alif's men finished the first round fixture in a very good position to qualify for the knock-out stage.

However in Paroi, Terengganu lost their unbeaten run when a solitary strike by striker Shahrunain Abu Samah was enough to see Negeri Sembilan continued their good run against The Turtles at their Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium.

The defeat put Terengganu's hope to qualify for the quarter-finals in balance but many would see no problem for them to secure their place when the second round of matches starts after the international break.

...

Hard Work...

2011-09-11T04:56:00.000+08:00

...for The Turtles!

Terengganu continued with their winning way in the 2011 Malaysia Cup campaign but they were forced to work hard in front of their own fans at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu against Selangor PKNS before winning their match 3-2.

Ashaari Shamsuddin's goal in the opening minutes gave the home fans a signal that it could be a night of goals for their side. However it was a false alarm as PKNS began to get into their stride. The away side who also forced Negeri Sembilan to work hard in their opening match found the equaliser when Mohd Fauzan Dzulkifli's shot from outside the box which was way off target took a huge deflection off Terengganu defender Mazlizam Mohamad's leg.

The deflection wrong footed Sharbinee Allawee who could only watch as the ball rolled into his goal. The score remained for the duration of the first half with both teams trying to breach each other's defence but could not find a way through.

Then in the second half Terengganu midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi, who scored with a screamer against Sime Darby FC on Tuesday found the net again. This time it was a composed finish inside the penalty box after he was put through by Ashaari Shamsuddin.

However, the home defence were generous with their defending and PKNS levelled the score again through Mohd Zamri Hassan strike from the top of the box after Terengganu failed to clear their line. It was looking like both teams were going to share the spoils until Mazlizam went up for a corner. PKNS failed to clear their line and the central defender tried his luck with a shot.

It was on target but hit Mohd Zulhariz Mohd Noh's hands and the referee, Mohd Romzi Zahari immediately blew for a penalty. The decision was met with hard protest from the visitors but to no avail in the end. Terengganu striker Abdul Manaf Mamat stepped up and sent Razi Effendi Suhit the wrong way to score the winner for his team.

The win put them level on points with Negeri Sembilan but the 2010 Malaysia Cup finalist have the better goal difference after their 5-0 thrashing of the hapless Sime Darby FC. The match saw Hairudin Omar scoring twice with Shahruain Abu Samah, shukor Adan and Idris Karim also getting their names on the scoresheet.

Yong Kuong Yong scored twice to ensure his team Kuala Lumpur continue leading Group D in their match against PBDKT T-Team who failed to keep up their momentum after registering a 1-0 victory over Selangor on Tuesday. Central defender Norfazly Alias score his second goal in as many match when he found the net once again against the City Boys.

The Red Giants meanwhile put themselves back on winning ways, defeating the Royal Malaysian Police 2-0 with a brace from Mohd Fadzli Saari.

In Group A Perak and Sabah recorded identical 2-1 win over Johor and Kedah respectively to joint lead the group. Failee Ghazli and Shafiq Jamal cheered the home fans with their goals while Azuwad Arip scored for the visitors.

In Kota Kinabalu, Zainizam Marjan and Thanaraj scored for the Rhinos who used their numerical advantage to the fullest after the dismissal of Baddrol Bakhtiar. Mohd Azmi Muslim reduced the deficit for the Canaries towards the end of the match.

Holders Kelantan had to wait until the final few minutes before sealing their victory over Johor FC who surprised the home fans when they took the lead early on through Eddy Helmy. However, his effort was undone by his team-mate when Hamzani Omar put the ball into his own net. It looked like the match was going to end in a draw until Ramzul Zahini's shot trickled past Suhardy Elby a few minutes before the end.

Felda United also continued their winning form with a 1-0 win over Sarawak with the winning goal coming from Nizam Abu Bakar midway through the second half.

...

Great Start...

2011-09-07T05:28:00.000+08:00

...for Turtles!

It was a good night for Terengganu football fans with both their teams began their 2011 Malaysia Cup campaign on a winning note.

PBDKT T-Team did a 'triple' over tournament favourite, Selangor with a 1-0 win at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium, Kuala Terengganu. The Terengganu club side, having registered 2-1 wins over the Red Giants in the Super League notched the winner through central defender, Norfazly Alias who finished cooly from close range after Selangor defence failed to clear their line properly.

In another Group D match, Kuala Lumpur registered a 3-0 win over the Royal Malaysian Police thus leading the group with a better goal difference to T-Team.

At the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium, Terengganu took a two goal lead in the first half against Sime Darby FC with goals coming from Sarawakians, Joseph Kalang Tie and Reeshafiq Alwi. The latter's goal should be a candidate for goal of the tournament with a forty metre screamer that flew past the home side goalkeeper.

Then towards the end of the match, Abdul Manaf Mamat displayed his cool side when he calmly finished a lay-off by team-mate, Ailim Fahmi inside the penalty area. The 3-0 win was enough to put The Turtles at the top of Group B, having a better goal difference to Negeri Sembilan who won 2-1 against 2011 Premier League champions, PKNS FC at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya.

Super League champions, Kelantan opened their campaign in Group C with a 2-0 win in Kuching over Premier League side Sarawak. National players Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Chanturu were the scorers as The Crocs failed to use their home advantage to the fullest against The Stags.

Another match in the same group saw Johor FC lost 2-0 to another club side, Felda United at J-Corps Stadium in Pasir Gudang.

In Group A, another Johor side suffered the same fate, losing 2-0 against Kedah while Sabah failed to capitalise on their home advantage after Perak forced them to share a point in a 0-0 draw at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.

...

The Race Starts...

2011-09-06T04:08:00.000+08:00

...Now!

With Aidil-Fitri mood still prevail among football fans in Malaysia, the 2011 Malaysia Cup competition will kick off tonight with matches scheduled to take place around the country.

Holders Kelantan will kick-off their defence in Kuching as they take on promoted team Sarawak in an afternoon kick-off in Group C while last years runners-up, Negeri Sembilan travel to Petaling Jaya to face Premier League Champions, PKNS FC at the MBPJ Stadium in Group B.

In another Group B match, FA Cup winners Terengganu will also open their campaign in the Klang Valley, albeit on the other side of town as they take on another Premier League side, Sime Darby FC at the Selayang Stadium.

Irfan Bakti's side will be relatively unchanged with just Harimau Muda defender, Mohamad Faizal Mohamad being the only addition to the squad that won their first silverware for Terengganu since 2001 with their triumph in the 2011 FA Cup final in May.

However, the experienced head coach will be without the service of young left-back Mohamad Zubir Azmi who is on national duty with the Malaysian Olympic squad that will travel to Japan for their first match of the final round of the 2012 Olympic Qualifier on 21 September. Apart from that, The Turtles will be at their full strength.

Another Terengganu side, PBDKT T-Team will host multiple winners Selangor at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. Head Coach Yunus Alif will definitely looking forward to get another win over the Red Giants, having done the double over K Devan's boys in the recently concluded 2011 Super League.

T-Team will be without their first choice goalkeeper, Syamsuri Mustafa who could miss the whole Malaysia Cup campaign due to a persistent knee injury. Taking his place between the posts could be POS Malaysia goalkeeper, Mohamad Jibril who is loaned from the Premier League side.

Another loanee in the T-Team squad is Mohamad Fitri Omar, a forward with the Muar Municipal Council during the league season. Both of them will have to be at their best in order to win the hearts of the local supporters who will be hoping for a good result against Selangor.

Below are the complete fixture:

GROUP A - JOHOR vs KEDAH, SABAH vs PERAK
GROUP B - SIME DARBY FC vs TERENGGANU, PKNS FC vs NEGERI SEMBILAN
GROUP C - SARAWAK vs KELANTAN, JOHOR FC vs FELDA UNITED
GROUP D - POLICE vs KUALA LUMPUR, PBDKT T-TEAM vs SELANGOR

...

The Draw...

2011-08-05T19:15:00.004+08:00

...is Good

Terengganu and PBDKT T-Team were drawn into different groups for the 2011 Malaysia Cup competition in the just concluded draw held at the Nasional Stadium, Bukit Jalil.

The FA Cup winners found themselves with familiar faces in Group B with Negeri Sembilan who have Hairuddin Omar leading their frontline, Premier League champions, PKNS Selangor who were coached by former Terengganu player and coach, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim and Sime Darby FC who themselves were boosted by several Terengganu born players for their Premier League campaign.

It seems The Turtles will be making quite a few trips to the capital and so will T-Team who were drawn into Group D with Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and The Malaysian Royal Police as company.

Looking at the draw, Irfan Bakti's boys should be able to make it to the knock-out stage at least but they have to be extra careful with the Premier League sides as they could become their banana slips.

On the other hand, T-Team have the potential to go far but they have to be able to consistently perform at their best in order to overcome the challenges from the Klang Valley duo and the Police side.

Group A which consist of Kedah, their southern neighbour Perak, Sabah and Johor. The only group with no club side in their midst, the battle will be between the three Super League sides as Johor could be considered as spoilers to the other teams.

Meanwhile Group C should see Super League champions, Kelantan qualifying to the knock-out stage and the battle in the group will be to see who will accompany them between Johor FC, Felda United and Premier League side, Sarawak. But it could turn out differently if The Stags could not start the campaign running.

...

Harsh...

2011-07-28T23:11:00.006+08:00

...Truth!

It is the end of the road for Malaysia in their journey to the 2014 World Cup Finals in Brazil. The 1-1 scoreline at the end of the second round, second leg match at Bukit Jalil meant we were eliminated by Singapore on a 6-4 aggregate score after losing the first match 5-3 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

In a way, I would say the elimination is a blessing in disguise for Malaysian football as it will force those who are responsible to take stock of the qualifying campaign and iron out the deficiencies in the Malayan Tigers in order to maintain the recent standard that Malaysian football fans have been accustomed to.

The team did not reach the level they were at during the successful 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup campaign.

Photo by: Shazli Shamsuddin

Poor defending have been the bane of the campaign, as seen from the first round matches against Chinese Taipei. It continued in the first leg match against Singapore though the fighting spirit to reduce the score to 4-3 after trailing 4-1 at the interval gave Malaysians hope they could finish the job in Bukit Jalil despite conceding a late goal as they lost 5-3.

From mad redo1's perspective, Rajagobal's men do not know how to defend as a team and prone to lose concentration too many times during a match. Almost all goals conceded were results from this weakness.

Our midfielders do not track opposing players properly which meant a simple one-two could easily open up our defence. All these were evident during the match against The Lions, who despite many of their players could qualify for the next Academy Awards, were much better tactically and technically than The Tigers.

Of course, there is no point talking about their naturalised players as we must realise, in order to become a footballing power, we must be able to match any kind of players our opponents field against us.

For now, we simply are not ready for that. Rather than seeing the team becoming a punchbag for the football powerhouses in Asia, I would rather see we prepare ourselves for the next assignment, which is the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup, where we are the defending champions and co-host with Thailand.

As for the Lions, they could surprise a few people with the presence of their naturalised players but to see them in action in Brazil in 2014 would be asking too much of them. They have better chance of grabbing an Oscar at the Academy Awards!

...

Goals Galore...

2011-07-24T00:46:00.001+08:00

...at the Tiny Stadium.

mad redo1 was no where in front of the TV to catch the first leg of the second round match between Singapore and Malaysia at the tiny Jalan Besar Stadium for a berth in the third round of the Asian section of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

The reason being he was away at a wedding reception, celebrating the marriage of his niece, Maizura 'Juya' Ismail to a Dane, Matthias Varming at the Felda Villa Restaurant. But the news that came through was shocking to say the least as the home side ran riot and went down the tunnel at the interval leading the beleaguered Malaysians by 4-1.

Wearing the Malaysia yellow jersey under his green casual shirt specially bought for the occassion, mad redo1 joked with other guests about the score would be 4-3 when the referee blew his final whistle.

He was amazed when the news came and the score did become 4-3. Unfortunately it was not the final one as the home side managed to add another ten minutes before time to bring a two goal advantage when the two sides meet again for the second leg at Bukit Jalil.

Would the Malayan Tigers be able to find the two goals needed to ensure a passage to the third round, the answer would be on Thursday.

Come on Tigers!

...

Tough Companies...

2011-07-08T06:43:00.005+08:00

...for Young Tigers.

Malaysia has been drawn into Group C of the 2012 London Olympics Asian Final Qualifying Round together with favourite Japan and two West Asian nations, Bahrain and Syria. It will be a stern test for Ong Kim Swee's boys who were placed in the fourth pot during the draw.

The Young Tigers will open their campaign away to Japan on 21-09 before playing their next two matches at home against the West Asians in November. Syria will be the first to come for their fixture on 23-11 and four days later Malaysia have Bahrain as their guest on 27-11.

Their next two matches will take place in February next year with Malaysia going to Bahrain on 05-02 before entertaining the Japanese on 22-02. The final group match will take place on 14-03 with the Malaysians having to travel to Syria.

Of course being in the final rounds is already a good achievement for Malaysia, which has consistently failed to progress past the first round of any continental competitions for a number of years now.

But in the current feel good situation in Malaysia in regards of their national football team, one could be forgiven for thinking that the Young Tigers have the capability to spring a few upsets against the more fancied teams in their group.

Kim Swee's plans for these matches are to minimise errors that his players could make as they could prove fatal against the stronger teams in their group. Furthermore they would stand an outside chance of qualifying if the Malaysians could take full advantage of their home matches.

The Draw:
GROUP A - Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman
GROUP B - Australia, Uzbekistan, Iraq, UAE
GROUP C - Japan, Bahrain, Syria, Malaysia

...

Right...

2011-07-07T06:00:00.010+08:00

...to the Wire!

As a Ganuan mad redo1 was hoping to see Terengganu winning their maiden Super League title this season. However, prior to the kick-off of the last round of matches in the 2011 Super League season, he realised that The Turtles only had a small percentage of chances of doing that.

Three points behind leaders Kelantan and two behind Selangor the only way the Super League title coming to Kuala Terengganu was by hoping Saba

h to win against The Stags and Selangor were unable to get a win in Ipoh against Perak. Terengganu also needed to do their part of the bargain by winning big against Felda United at Kelana Jaya.

How mad redo1 wished he could be there to capture the moment but it was the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium for him to cover the T-Team versus Kuala Lumpur match.

With the Terengganu club side already assured of their place in the Super League, the match was more significant for the City Boys who were third from bottom and needed to get at least a draw in Kuala Terengganu.

Thus it was no surprise when they raced to a two goal lead in the first half through Mohamad Badrul Hisyam Azmi. However Indra Putra Mahyuddin reduced the deficit towards the end of the period through a header from a corner.

In the second half Kuala Lumpur restored their two goal lead when Badrul completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, even though T-Team goalkeeper, Ismail Abdul Rahman managed to save the initial kick the striker maintained his cool and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper, whose error gifted Kuala Lumpur their second goal in the first half.

Substitute Shamsul Kamal made the scoreline 3-2 towards the end of the match and despite some late pressure T-Team could not find their way past Kuala Lumpur defence again, condemning them to the thirteenth defeat of the season.

Meanwhile in Kelana Jaya, Terengganu raced to a 4-1 half-time lead with goals coming from Reeshafiq Alwi, Abdul Manaf Mamat and a brace by Abdul Hadi Yahya. However news coming in from Kota Kinabalu were not that rosy as The Stags had taken the lead against Sabah.

It turned out that tonight was not just about the race to become the 2011 league champions but also the race to win the golden boot. Malaysian internationals Hadi of Terengganu and Kelantan's Norshahrul Idlan Talaha were neck to neck to become 2011 topscorer, an award won by Terengganu's Ashaari Shamsuddin in 2010.

Then in the second half, Hadi found something extra and found the Felda United's net twice to make it twenty goals to his name and ensuring the golden boot would make its way to Terengganu again.

At the end of the night, The Turtles could not overhaul The Stags which were crowned as Super League Champions for the first time while Terengganu finished in their highest ever position since the start of the Super League, as runners-up which was an improvement from last season's third place. Selangor finished third after being held to a goal-less draw by Perak.

The immediate attention for Malaysian football fans would be the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against Singapore on the 21 and 28 of July. Then it will be a break for Ramadhan before the Malaysia Cup tournament begin a week after Aidil-Fitri in September.

To Terengganu, CONGRATULATIONS FOR A GOOD SEASON!

...

Away Goals...

2011-07-04T05:22:00.007+08:00

...Rule for the Tigers.

It was an awkward time for us in Malaysia to watch the second leg of the 2014 World Cup Qualifying first round match against Chinese Taipei. The kick-off was merely twenty minutes before the obligatory Maghrib prayers.

mad redo1 decided to have his dinner first with the family at Batu Buruk and watch the second half at the pre-arranged spot of The 2 Cafe at Jalan Pejabat. But the good guys at Yee Stall switched the channel to TV2 which carried the match 'live'. With his brother in law, Epie joining him, they decided to stay for the fist half.

Malaysia were already defending a free-kick at that moment but it did not bring any fruition to the home side. Then up to the other side, Dato' Rajagobal's men won themselves a free-kick of their own, but it was more than 30 metres away. In my so called 'expert' opinion it would take something special for any player to score from that distance.

The next minute this 'expert' was jumping with joy as Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak's nestled at the back of the Taiwan's net. It was quite surreal watching the flight of the ball which hit the top corner of the goal before going in.

It was a goal that should have killed the match as Malaysia had their own away goal, meaning Taiwan had to score twice to tie the match, and three goals to ensure their passage into the next round.

Nearing the half hour mark, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha should have sealed the Tigers' berth in the second round. Unfortunately, the Kelantan top-scorer who was unmarked as Amirulhadi Zainal delivered his cutback skied his shot when it seemed easier to score for the player of his reputation.

If his effort had gone into the net, the morale of the Taiwanese players would have gone down. Instead, they pushed Malaysia back and won a corner from their next attack. From this set-piece Malaysia defensive frailties began to show when slack marking allowed two Chinese Taipei players to have shots at their goal, the first one was blocked but the rebound was turned past Sharbinee Allawee by Chang Han, who also scored in the first leg in Kuala Lumpur.

Defender Asrarudin Putra who was nearest to the goalscorer should have held his hand up taking the blame for letting the player he was supposed to be marking the time and space to put the ball into the net.

The home side, buoyed by the support from the compatriots who were allowed into the venue without any charge began looking for the second goal which would tie the aggregate score.

Then five minutes from the interval, Vietnamese referee Vo Minh Tri awarded a free-kick to Malaysia after a foul just outside the penalty area. This time the distance was much shorter and the probability of getting another goal was higher.

Skipper Safiq Rahim stepped up and once again sent Malaysians into delirium as his effort went over the wall and went in off the far post, leaving Chinese Taipei goalkeeper, Lin Po-Cheng totally helpless.

But the lead did not last long. Chinese Taipei took advantage from Malaysia failure to maintain possession. When they regained the ball inside the Malaysian half did not seem to be a threat. But a few short passes later saw a run into the box by a Taiwan player was halted by Mahali Jasuli's trailing leg and referee Minh Tri blew for a penalty.

Sharbinee guessed right and managed to get his hands to the ball, unfortunately it was not enough to prevent Chen Po-Liang effort from going into the net. The post became the brunt of the goalkeeper's anger as Taiwanese celebrated.

With the score level at 2-2 as the half time whistle was blown mad redo1 left for the Al-Muktafibillah Shah Mosque for Maghrib prayers. After discharging his duties he and Epie headed for The 2 Cafe where another friend, Alep was waiting.

The play was quite even between the two teams. However going into the hour mark Malaysia failure to defend as a team led to their line being breached again. Po-Liang was able to find space past the static Malaysian defence and in his desperation defender, Fadhli Shas tugged at the striker's shirt.

Minh Tri once again pointed to the spot and it was part two of Po-Liang versus Sharbinee from twelve yards. This time the Terengganu goalkeeper managed to put a good solid stop to the ball and gathered it in his second attempt.

It should have disheartened The Taiwanese. Instead they continued to press and with fifteen minutes to go, Po-Liang darted into the box once again past the Malaysian defenders, who again looked static. Sharbinee came out and dived at the striker's feet. No contact was seen but the Taiwanese did a Rooney and kicked at the goalkeeper's hand, making it looked like a foul.

Minh Tri was duped as was Mike Dean at Old Trafford on that particular August day in 2009. This time it was Chen Tsan-Yuan who stepped up and took the responsibility of beating Sharbinee from the spot. The goalkeeper guessed correctly but the height and pace of the forward's effort did not give him any chance at all.

The home side was on the ascending, knowing that another goal would see them through. As for mad redo1 the last quarter of an hour of the match was the longest yet in football for him this season, even felt longer than the period he waited for the final whistle at Bukit Jalil in the FA Cup final.

Fortunately, the Malayan Tigers held on until Minh Tru blew the final whistle and booked their place in the second round on away goals rule.

There they are going to play their arch-rival Singapore in the Peninsular 'derby' over two legs. The first leg is scheduled to take place on 21 July at the compact Jalan Besar Stadium while the return match a week later on 28 July at Bukit Jalil.

To the Tigers, Congratulations!

Other results:
Pakistan vs Bangladesh 0-0 (Bangladesh won 3-0 on aggregate)
Laos vs Cambodia 6-2 (Laos won 8-6 on aggregate, after extra time)
Phillippines vs Sri Lanka 4-0 (Phillippines won 5-1 on aggregate)
Palestine vs Afghanistan 1-1 (Palestine won 3-1 on aggregate)
Macau vs Vietnam 1-7 (Vietnam won 13-1 on aggregate)
Timor Leste vs Nepal 0-5 (Nepal won 7-1 on aggregate)
Myanmar vs Mongolia 2-0 (Myanmar won 2-1 on aggregate)

...

Battle Won...

2011-06-30T01:22:00.005+08:00

...but the War is Not Over, Yet.

Failure to keep a clean sheet against Chinese Taipei last night could cost Malaysia dear in their quest to progress further in the 2014 World Cup Qualifying Tournament. The Malayan Tigers did win the match by the odd goal in three but the Taiwanese know they only have to win 1-0 on Sunday in their own backyard to eliminate the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup champions in the first hurdle.

Malaysia failed to capitalise their home ground advantage. Roared on by the partisan crowd Rajagobal's boys had to wait until nearly half an hour into the match before breaking the deadlock.

Substitute Abdul Hadi Yahya, who just came in place of out of sort fullback, Helmi Remeli, broke on the right. He passed the ball to Kunanlan who in turn set the ball up for his skipper Safiq Rahim. The midfielder took his shot early and watched as his effort flew across Chinese Taipei goalkeeper, Lin Po-Cheng and went in after hitting the far post.

Several more chances were created before the break but the Malaysian players wasted them through poor finishing and resolute defending by the visitors. However the home side capitalised on a poor defending by Chinese Taipei nine minutes into the second half to go two goals clear.

Photo by: Azhari Yusop | Dunia Sukan Online

A good delivery by Safiq was met by central defender, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak who was left unmarked as he made his run to attack the ball. It was powerful enough to see it bulged the Taiwanese goal net and sending fans in the stands into a state of delirium.

There were a few more opportunities came their way to make the tie completely safe but the Malaysian players just could not make the most of them.

Then thirteen minutes from time, the entire Malaysian defence just went asleep. From a throw in the Taiwanese player broke on the left and delivered a cut back which was met with a fine finish by Chen Po-Liang. None of the Malaysian defender pick up his run into the box which left goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee totally exposed.

Despite their efforts later on, the Tigers could not find their way past Po-Cheng again and now must brace themselves for a difficult second leg encounter at the Taipei Municipal Stadium on Sunday.

...

Roar...

2011-06-23T23:53:00.001+08:00

...of the Young Tigers!

Malaysia confirmed their place in the final of Asia Olympics Qualifying Round with eleven other nations after a battling display against Lebanon at the Stadium Nasional tonight. After a goal-less first leg at the Sports City Stadium in Beirut, the Malaysian players knew they have to win in order to progress in the competition.

The more favoured Lebanese could be feeling confident of pulling the result they needed to advance but that confidence must have plummeted after nine minutes when Malaysia went ahead through a sweet strike by Mohamad Irfan Fazail after the visitors failed to clear their line.

His finish from just outside the box was akin to the ones that we Malaysians used to see during English Premier League matches, highlighting the fact we have good technical players in our league. What they need is to keep producing the kind of good technique on a consistent basis.

Back to the match, the Lebanese players seemed to be shell-shocked and Ong Kim Swee's boys took the opportunity to press for the security of a second goal. However they have to survive a scare when Khairul Fahmi Che Mat's crossbar was rattled by a strike by Abdallah Taleb.

The second goal did arrive and the way it arrived certainly should make more Malaysians believe in this Malaysian team. A string of passes were exchanged before Gary Steven threaded the ball into the box, having spotted Wan Zack Haikal making a run from the flank.

(Image was taken from Dunia Sukan.com)

The midfielder shrugged off the attention from a Lebanon player and managed to squeeze the ball past goalkeeper, Mohamad Dakramanji. The National Stadium erupted with joy as Malaysians celebrated the goal that could bring them to the stage they have not visited for a long, long time.

It certainly proved crucial. Steven, who received a yellow card in the first minute of the match, saw the same card again flashed to him by Japanese referee, Toma Maasaki six minutes into the second half, resulting in an early bath and giving Lebanon a man advantage.

The dismissal gave them the impetus to push forward in search of goals and with the Malaysian defence kept hacking the ball away at every opportunity, meant the Lebanese would keep coming back.

Finally the constant pressure paid off in the 61st minute when a deep cross from the right was headed towards goal by Mahmoud Kojok. The loose ball then was headed in by an alert Chadie Atie despite the desperate attempts by the Malaysian players to keep it out.

The goal meant Malaysia's hope of advancing depended on whether they would concede again in the last half an hour of the match as a draw tonight meant the Arabs would go through on away goals rule.

Perhaps the best way of not letting your opponents score is to deprive them of the ball in the first place. However, as the Malaysian players continued to punt the ball into Lebanon's half almost continuously saw they have to constantly deal with attacks by the visitors.

Credit to them, they managed to hustle the Lebanon players and prevented them from making much use of the ball, restricting them to making long distance attempts which were dealt easily by Khairul Fahmi.

Only towards the end did the Malaysian players beginning to hold on to the ball and keeping it in the Lebanon half of the pitch. The three minutes stoppage time seemed like an eternity but when Maasaki San blew his whistle one final time tonight it resulted in joyous celebrations not just at Bukit Jalil but throughout Malaysia.

Congratulations Young Tigers!

Other results:
India vs Qatar: 1-1 (Qatar won 4-2 on aggregate)
Iran vs Iraq: 0-2 (Iraq won 2-1 on aggregate)
Palestine vs Bahrain: 1-2 (2-2 on aggregate, Bahrain won on away goals rule)
Yemen vs Australia: 0-4 (Australia won 7-0 on aggregate)
Kuwait vs Japan: 2-1 (Japan won 4-3 on aggregate)
Turkmenistan vs Syria: 0-4 (Syria won 6-2 on aggregate)
UAE vs DPR Korea: 1-1 (UAE won 2-1 on aggregate)
Jordan vs Korea Republic: 1-1 (Korea won 4-2 on aggregate)
Hong Kong vs Uzbekistan: 0-2 (Uzbekistan won 3-0 on aggregate)
Vietnam vs Saudi Arabia: 1-4 (Saudi Arabia won 6-1 on aggregate)
Oman vs China: 3-1 (Oman won 4-1 on aggregate)

...

Another Comeback...

2011-05-04T12:30:00.006+08:00

...by The Turtles.

Terengganu made a strong second half comeback to win 3-1 after falling behind against bottom team, Perlis in their 2011 Super League match at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah last night. It seemed the incident of falling behind is becoming a trade-mark for The Turtles who already made eight positive comebacks from their 17 league matches so far.

They also have made late rallies in their away defeats to Selangor and Perak (FA Cup) while against Kedah they were unlucky not coming away with a more positive result.

Against Perlis, Head Coach, Irfan Bakti chose to field Mazlizam Mohamad and Ronny Harun while resting influential skipper, Marzuki Yusof. It was quite a strange decision by the experienced coach as he was already without regular, Hasmizan Kamarodin who was given an extended leave to be with his wife for the delivery of their child.

Thus it was not really a surprise when the new partnership failed to gel effectively which led to The Northern Lions scoring their goal by Nik Shahrul Hanizam when he capitalised on a defensive mix-up. Instead of introducing Marzuki, it was Abdul Manaf Mamat who was sent on in place of the beleaguered Ahmad Nordin Alias.

It was perhaps a tactical reshuffle as from the line-up, it was more like a 4-5-1 formation with Abdul Hadi Yahya playing as a lone striker. Introducing Abdul Manaf changed the formation to the more familiar 4-4-2 formation again.

However, it was the lack of sharpness of the Terengganu players that saw them playing below par as quite a number of passes went astray despite having a lion share of possession. This prompted uncivilized fans to hurl abuse at the players when they should be giving them encouragement to try harder.

These fans might as well stay away as their presence merely provoke stress to the players who were trying their best under conditions which were not helping them to consistently give their best in every match. The Perlis match was their tenth match in thirty days.

Irfan Bakti's attempt to rotate his squad seemed to backfire which gave credence to his statement that his squad does not have adequate strength in depth to give his players enough rest between matches.

Fortunately his striker Abdul Manaf who was in the midst of a dry spell in front of goal found his scoring touch back with a brace in the second half, sandwiching a strike by another player who have not found the back of the net in the last six matches, Ashaari Shamsudin.

Abdul Manaf first strike came nine minutes into the second half when he latched onto a through pass and finished the move with a low shot that left Perlis goalkeeper, Amini Ahmad Tabarani helpless. Then in the 68th minute Ashaari darted on a solo run past several Perlis defenders which ended with him beating Amini with another low shot.

Then in the 76th minute Abdul Hadi Yahya broke in from the right and sent in a low ball. Abdul Manaf anticipation was spot on as he connected with it to beat Amini at his near post. It could have been four and a ht-trick for Abdul Manaf but his wonderful header from a cross by Reeshafiq Alwi was ruled off-side by the referee assistant.

The win maintained Terengganu pressure on the two teams at the top of the 2011 Super League table. Kelantan won 1-0 at Johor FC while Selangor overcame Kuala Lumpur in Cheras with a 3-1 scoreline.

...

Awards...

2011-05-03T14:36:00.011+08:00

...Galore.

Cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustafa were named as Terengganu Sportsman and Sportswoman for 2009/2010 at a ceremony last night. The event which was held at Wisma Darul Iman saw the duo retaining the awards they won at the 2007/2008 edition.

Apart from the two winners, the event also saw another cyclist, Muhammad Adeq Husaini Othman named as the most promising male athlete while the female version of the award went to canoeist, Siti Rajiah Ali. The canoeing fraternity saw their men and women team won the best team awards while their association was deemed as the best managed by the selection committee.

Earlier in the evening several awards were presented to the respective individuals and associations.

The Leadership in Sports Awards were given to Dato' Mokhtar Nong and Mohamad Shapian Ali while Allahyarham Mohamad Muda was given a post-humous recognition for his deeds to sports. Khalid Mohamad Dahan's achievements with various Terengganu football teams was recognized with the Best Coach Award.

The Dungun Sports Council received the Best District Sports Council Award while the Sinar Harian newspaper was deemed to be the best in media coverage.

After these awards were handed out, guests were invited to help themselves to the spread on the table. Of course mad redo1 chose the simplest meal of all, satay. By the end of the session there were at least fifteen used satay sticks in front of him. Of course he helped himself to other meals too.

During dinner, guests were entertained with dance by the Sutra Dance Troupe, songs by talents unearthed during local RTM's talent search contests. The main draw for the dinner was of course, the evergreen performer, Hattan who sang three songs.

Then the ceremony got on with the formalities of speeches by the state Youth and Sports EXCO Chairman and the YAB Mentri Besar.

After the speeches, more awards were handed to the other winners. The canoeing fraternity were the biggest winner when they bagged the Best Managed Sports Association, both Best Men and Best Women teams and The Most Promising Women Athlete awards.

But the biggest awards of the night went to the cycling fraternity with the Best Sportsman and Sportwomen going their way. To add more joy they also saw the Most Promising Men Athlete being won by their rider.

To all winners, CONGRATULATIONS!

...

Dull Affair...

2011-05-01T08:46:00.001+08:00

...in kT

As expected, Kelantan returned to the top of the Super League table after their 2-0 win over Kuala Lumpur in Kota Bahru. This meant Terengganu are now in third place, a point adrift from The Stags and The Red Giants. It is still a long way to go and during this hectic period which only ends at the end of May, so many things could happen.

In order for The Turtles to keep up in the title race is to play good football but many would not mind getting results by playing 'ugly' football. But playing ugly football and NOT getting the right result would only mean fans are going to desert you en masse, such as the one on display when PBDKT T-Team took on Pahang last night.

The match, like the one between Terengganu and Selangor the night before was televised 'live' by Astro Arena. Unfortunately, it was not anything like the previous match with stray passes galore between the two sets of players. Chances, once again were at a premium.

The closest anyone getting the ball into the net was when T-Team's topscorer, Indra Putra Mahyudin smacked his shot against the bar from a corner, with the Pahang goalkeeper, Rosfaizul Azuar was already beaten.

The crowd were really getting on the back of T-Team striker, Haris Safwan who became the brunt of the blame for the team's poor performance. Perhaps it a was a spell that he was going through when everything he does just would not come off right. This time he lasted just until the interval, when he was replaced by Shamsul Kamal Mohamad.

T-Team dropped to ninth in the table while Pahang remained in tenth.

...

Turtles and Giants...

2011-04-30T12:37:00.005+08:00

...Shared The Spoils.

Terengganu failed to use their home advantage against Selangor to go to the top of the 2011 Super League table. The 1-1 draw in Kuala Terengganu would not neither team any good as Kelantan who are playing tonight could leapfrog them if they win their home match against Kuala Lumpur, as they are expected to.

The Turtles who had to battle hard in Kota Kinabalu to come away with all three points, looked a bit jaded as they tried to impose control on the match. Selangor, who were beaten on Tuesday in Kota Bahru by Kelantan were looking to avoid a similar result and opted for a less adventurous tactic against the home side.

Despite slightly having more possession of the ball, the Terengganu front-line lacked ideas in the final third and most of their attempts were from distance. In one such instance, Abdul Hadi Yahya's shot was too hot to handle for Selangor goalkeeper, Saiful Amar Sudar but Hadi's strike partner, Abdul Manaf Mamat skied his shot.

It would not have counted anyway as the linesman had flagged Manaf for offside.

Selangor also had their moments too. Rudie Ramlie managed to get to a through ball by his skipper, Amri Yahyah but under pressure from Terengganu defender, Hasmizan Kamarodin he could only shoot straight at Sharbinee Allawee.

Then two minutes from the interval Safiq Rahim nipped on the blind side to connect with another Amri's pass and slotted the ball past Sharbinee. It was a close call by the referee's assistant he deemed the player was onside, much to the chagrin of the home fans, who then proceeded to rain the official with a favourite local delicacy; keropok lekor.

Terengganu were presented with an opportunity to level the score when the referee awarded a free-kick for a foul on Abdul Hadi. However, the off-form Ashaari Shamsuddin could only hit the wall and the ball was subsequently cleared.

The Turtles could go further behind when slack marking allowed Asrarudin Putra a free header from a corner a minute into the second half. Fortunately for Terengganu, his header was off target.

Nearing the hour mark, Irfan Bakti felt the need for a change and he made a double substitution. Abdul Manaf and fullback, Helmi Remeli were taken off and their place were taken by Ahmad Nordin Alias and Mohaimin Omar.

In the 64th minute the equaliser Terengganu were looking for finally arrived courtesy of midfielder, Ismail Faruqi. Joseph Kalang broke through on the right and while his first attempt to cross the ball was blocked, he managed to do it the second time around. Ismail run was not picked up and he dived bravely to connect with the ball and sent it past Saiful Amar.

Sultan Ismail erupted with joy and buoyed by this Terengganu camped inside Selangor's half as they tried to seek the winner. Ismail came close again with a similar move but the second time around the goalkeeper foiled his attempt.

Joseph, Abdul Hadi and their skipper, Marzuki Yusof came close with their efforts but in the end both teams had to settle for a point each while hoping The City Boys would do them a favour by getting a positive result in Kota Bahru tonight.

...

Canaries Caged...

2011-04-27T09:22:00.011+08:00

...in kT.

PBDKT T-Team snapped their win-less run of four matches with a 3-1 win over Kedah in Kuala Terengganu last night. Ironically, the win came after the Kuala Terengganu club gave their Head Coach, Yunus Alif a temporary leave of absence as the result of the inconsistent performance by the team.

Meanwhile at the Likas Stadium, Terengganu came back from falling a goal behind against host, Sabah to win their encounter against the Rhinos 2-1. The win kept The Turtles in second place which mean the could become the Super League leaders if they win their encounter against current leader, Selangor on Friday.

At The Sultan Ismail Nasirudin, caretaker coach, Shafie Pak could not wish for a better start for his tenure when Indra Putra Mahyuddin fired the home side ahead just after three minutes with a wonderful volley from a cross by Haris Safwan Kamal.

However, both teams could not display a commanding performance and the match became a dull affair with chances came at a premium. Then from almost out of nothing, Kedah equalised.

A long ball out of defence found Baddrol Bakhtiar on the left. He easily shrugged off the challenge from Subri Sulong and then tricked Syamsuri Mustafa with his body movement before slotting the ball into the empty net.

The second half was no different. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm. Then with ten minutes to go, a group of supporter raised a banner asking the sacking of the head coach and the team management to be reshuffled.

Coincidently, at this moment T-Team began to seize control of the match. After a number of attempts finally substitute Shamsul Kamal restored his team lead when his stiff shot from the right squirmed from Helmi Eliza's grasp and rolled over the goal-line. the goalkeeper must be wishing the ground to open up and swallow him at the moment.

Then three minutes into stoppage time, experienced midfielder Zairo Anuar who already saw Helmi saving his attempts during the match, gave the goalkeeper no chance with a first time shot from 20 metres after being set up by Indra Putra.

It was a welcome relief for t-team who could consolidate their form with another win over Pahang on Saturday on the same venue.

Meanwhile in Kota Kinabalu, Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee must be sharing the same feeling with Helmi when his mistake led to the opening goal for Sabah. The custodian failed to deal properly with a long shot by Shahrul Azhar Ture and could only watch as the ball went to the back of the net.

However, Sharbinee who has been in fine form all season should not feel bad as even the best goalkeeper in the world also commit an error every now and then.

The home fans who were hoping to get all three points from the match had their hopes dashed when Terengganu striker, Abdul Hadi Yahya equalised with a simple finish after a team-mate had brought the ball under control from a cross inside the penalty area.

It was his six goals in as many matches, equalling the record he made earlier this season. Abdul Hadi now has thirteen goals to his name in all competitions this season. Then substitute Wan Aliff Jasmi who put up a good performance when he came on against Perak on Saturday made himself a hero to all Ganuans last night.

When Abdul Hadi broke on the left, Wan Aliff made a run into the box. He arrived just a head of his marker to tap in the ball into the empty net after his team-mate had beaten Sabah goalkeeper, Syed Adney with a low ball.

Then a moment of controversy came when an attempt by a Sabah player hit the hand of a Terengganu player inside the penalty box. However the referee deemed it was a case of 'ball to hand' rather than the other way around.

It was enough to cause the Sabah fans in the stands to show their displeasure but in the end The Turtles held on for the precious three points in order to keep up their title challenge for this season.

...

Turtles Downed Buffaloes...

2011-04-24T05:52:00.000+08:00

...Again!

Terengganu scored three goals again when they met Perak at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night. This time there was no reply from The Buffaloes. However despite the score, Norizan Bakar's men were not completely outplayed by the Turtles though.

A win for Terengganu would see them returning to second spot on the Super League table. Thus the home side made their intention clear early in the match with several forays into the Perak penalty area. However Perak custodian, Nasril Nourdin proved to be a huge stumbling block for Terengganu as he made several saves in keeping the score at nil-nil.

Terengganu however were not to be denied. After fifteen minutes, their top-scorer, Abdul Hadi Yahya latched onto a through pass from midfield. He took the ball with a wonderful close control and prodded it past Nasril. It seemed like forever but finally the ball rolled over the line and Sultan Ismail erupted with joy as fans celebrated the goal, which was Hadi's twelfth goal of the season.

The Turtles continued to put pressure on Perak defence but the visitors managed to keep the score at one-nil going into the interval. They even came close several times with Noor Hazrul putting his efforts from dead ball situations just wide of the mark.

Eight minutes into the second half Terengganu suffered a setback when influential skipper, Marzuki Yusof had to leave the field due to an injury sustained in the first half. His replacement, Mazlizam Mohamad quickly made his presence felt with a header that just went above the bar from a corner.

Going into the hour mark, Perak tried hard to level things up. Their coach, Norizan Bakar made the switch by replacing Shafiq Jamil with with the more direct and physical style of Razali Umar Kandasamy.

However, it was Terengganu who found the back of the net again. This time through midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi who was put through by Abdul Manaf Mamat in the 67th minute. He finished smartly with the outside of his right boot leaving Nasril picking up the ball from the back of his net for the second time last night.

Then twelve minutes from time Abdul Manaf, who himself was going through a lean spell in front of goal for five matches now; broke through on the left. His cut back eventually fell to Hadi who unleashed a shot which proved too hot to handle for Nasril.

Joseph Kalang Tie who did the follow-up swung at the loose ball which hit the roof of the net. It was an emotional moment for the Sarawak born forward as it was his first goal of the season. To make it even sweeter for him, Joseph's family were watching from the stands.

There was no way back for Perak and despite their late pressure on Terengganu defence, failed to ruin Sharbinee's fifth clean sheet of the season. The win saw The Turtles leap-frog Kelantan into second place, four points behind Selangor who also won 2-1 in Kota Kinabalu against Sabah.

...

Poor, Poor...

2011-04-23T07:10:00.001+08:00

...Perlis.

Kelantan moved into second place in the 2011 Malaysian Super League when they completed a double over Perlis at the Sultan Mohamad IV Stadium last night. The 4-0 win came after the two sides had met in Kangar on Tuesday where The Northern Lions were humiliated 5-1 by The Stags.

The win saw Kelantan reduced the deficit to league leaders Selangor to just two points. In view of the Red Giants trip to Sabah tonight it is a good way to put a little pressure on K Devan's boys ahead of their match against the Rhinos, who so far have been on good form at home.

Terengganu and Perak who shared the points in Ipoh on Tuesday are also hoping for a win to keep up with the leaders. The Turtles will retake second place if they win tonight, a result which will leave the Buffaloes further behind in the title race.

When the two sides met in the FA Cup quarter-finals last month, Terengganu won the match 3-1 to overturn the first leg deficit and qualify for the last four where they will be meeting Pahang next month. A similar result will see the home fans going home happy tonight.

Meanwhile another Terengganu team, PBDKT T-Team which travel to Pasir Gudang to meet Johor FC will be hoping to record their first win in three matches. Their resurrection which saw them beating Kelantan and Selangor earlier this month seemed to have petered out since losing the 'Turtle' derby against Terengganu which followed by the easy defeat at Kuala Lumpur.

A draw will be a good result against The Bees at their hive but a win will certainly be a bonus for this long trip down south by Yunus Alif's boys.

...

Falling Further...

2011-04-21T06:09:00.003+08:00

...Down.

Perak found themselves dropping further down the 2011 Malaysian Super League charts after Kedah won their tie against Harimau Muda 'A' at the Shah Alam Stadium last night. The win for the Canaries came courtesy of an own goal by Harimau Muda defender, Mohamad Amer Saidin who sliced his clearance into his own net despite not being pressured by any Kedah player.

Kedah are now in fourth place while Perak dropped to fifth.

...

All Tied...

2011-04-20T14:02:00.006+08:00

...Up!

Last night saw the last round of matches were played in the 2011 Super League first round. The big winners were Selangor who pulled four points clear at the top of the league charts after being forced to work hard by Sabah at the Shah Alam Stadium.

This was after their nearest challengers, Terengganu and Perak cancelled each other out at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh by playing to a 1-1 draw. The Turtles remained second while The Buffaloes dropped to fourth after Kelantan halted their win-less run with a 5-1 demolition of Perlis in Kangar to climb to third spot.

At the Perak Stadium, the home side went ahead after eight minutes when Shafiq Jamil's attempt from a corner was judged by the referee to have crossed the Terengganu goal line. The Turtles levelled the score in the second half when Abdul Hadi Yahya converted a penalty for his eleven goal of the season.

Photo credit to: hesome-yob4ever

The spot kick was awarded after Ashaari Shamsudin was brought down inside the penalty area even though Perak players protested that the foul was committed outside of it. In the end both teams had to share the spoils from this encounter.

Meanwhile PBDKT T-Team also stopped their losing run by drawing 1-1 with Johor FC at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. Defender Shahrul Ezrain gave the Kuala Terengganu club side a dream start with a goal after ten minutes but T-Team failed to find the visitors' back of the net again during the match.

A number of chances fell to Indra Putra Mahyudin, Haris Safwan, Zairo Anuar and Shamsul Kamal but almost all their attempts failed to find their target or were blocked by The Bees defenders.

They were made to pay when three minutes into the second half, T-Team defenders failed to react when a corner was delivered into their box and Shahrizal Mohamad Saad took full advantage to head home the equaliser.

The second half saw T-Team continued struggling to breach the visitors defence. Towards the end of the match Indra Putra was seen pushed by a Johor FC defender when they were competing for a high ball inside the box.

The referee played the advantage but when the advantage did not come to anything, T-Team defender Azizi Matt Rose protested that a penalty should have been given to his team. However his protest came to no avail.

Then Azizi himself got into trouble when he brought down a Johor FC player as the latter was bearing down on T-Team's goal during a quick counter-attack. The referee gleefully reached for his pocket and flashed the one coloured red. The task of winning the match looked harder for the home side.

However credit to them as they continued to push the issue but once again poor finishing let them down. Zairo could have given T-Team all three points when a free-kick was awarded to T-Team at the edge of Johor FC penalty area but from an acute angle.

He managed to find the target but Terengganu born goalkeeper Suhardy Alby palmed away his shot and by the end both teams had to be content with a point each.

Teams are going to play the reverse of last night's fixtures to mark the beginning of the second round of matches in the 2011 Malaysian Super League.

...

Death Awaits...

2011-04-18T23:31:00.055+08:00

...if Guilty.

Most of the time mad redo1 writes about sports on these pages. But there are a few other things that he writes about too, and this is one of them.

I woke up with the TV showing a caption "Guru dituduh edar ganja" (Teacher accused of traffiking cannabis). Suddenly a familiar face appeared on the screen and my fear was confirmed when the newscaster announced the name of the teacher.

Abdul Karim Mohamed.

We just recently re-acquainted with one another through Facebook (where else?) and frankly, I was surprised that he has become a teacher. An English teacher.

Abdul Karim was a junior when I was at my school in Dungun. We shared the same block and came across each other almost daily. As time went on he developed into a person that did not fall into the category that I would like to hang out with due to his need to be seen as rebellious.

When I was appointed to the prefect board Abdul Karim certainly did not make my life as a prefect any easier (of course, he was not the only ones). He was naughty with his shenanigans but not to the extent of being a juvenile.

Thus, when I read through his Facebook that he was teaching English at the respected male only Sekolah Menengah Agama Sultan Zainal Abidin Ladang, I was surprised but glad that he has become a good person. As a teacher, he is way better than me.

Upon hearing the full charge which carries the mandatory death penalty, it saddened me greatly. With the additional information that he was tested positive for substance when the police arrested him, the thought that came across my mind was 'Abdul Karim is being Abdul Karim that I knew in the past'.

For all the 'difficult' moments that he gave me at school, never I wish he would receive this kind of punishment in return.

Admittedly I do not know Abdul Karim that well after our school days to really pass my judgment on him. But he seems to have the full support of his students who are saying all the positives about him on his Facebook wall. It is good to know that during that time he has done so many good things and made positive impact on so many young lives.

Hopefully, the positives will far outweigh the negatives.

As for the charge, it is up to the courts to find him guilty or innocent. I for one will take a keen interest on the development of this case and for the sake of those who love and care for him, I hope the judgment will be the latter.

...

Pipped to Second...

2011-04-17T19:30:00.003+08:00

...by the Red Giants.

Terengganu's stay at the top of the Super League was cut short by Selangor after the Red Giants won against another title contender, Perak at the Shah. Safiq Rahim scored the match only goal and put his team two points clear of The Turtles.

Perak, which could go to the top themselves if they managed to collect all three points at Shah Alam remained in third. They now will face The Turtles in a double header to mark the end of the first round of matches in the Super League on Tuesday in Ipoh.

Then they will travel to Kuala Terengganu for the first match in the second round. As a Ganuan, of course mad redo1 will be hoping for all six points to be collected by Terengganu in order to keep up the pressure on the league leader, Selangor.

But it would not be an easy task with both teams winning their home match when they met in the last eight of the FA Cup competition last month. A win in Ipoh for Terengganu will be considered as a bonus for Terengganu as to come away with a point is a more realistic target.

Hopefully the extra day of rest, having played their match on Friday will do the Terengganu players a world of good as they need to be at their best in order to get a good result in Ipoh.

When they recorded three wins in succession, many thought T-Teams had finally found their winning rhythm. But defeat in the 'Turtle' derby against Terengganu seemed to affect the morale of the T-Team players.

Their display against Kuala Lumpur at the KLFA Stadium was woeful to say the least. Conceding three 'schoolboys' goals in a period of less than five minutes left them with a mountain climb. As expected they never recover after that despite managing to pull one back through Indra Putra Mahyuddin before the first half is over.

The result saw T-Team going down a place to eighth in the Super League table, equal on points and goal difference with their conquerors, Kuala Lumpur. But the Terengganu club side had scored more goals then the City Boys.

T-Team will end their first round campaign against Johor FC on Tuesday in Kuala Terengganu and visit Pasir Gudang for their return match next Saturday. As a Ganuan mad redo1 will be hoping for T-Team to rediscover their winning ways again.

...

Turtles at the Top...

2011-04-16T07:34:00.031+08:00

...even it was for a Short Time Only.

Terengganu went to the top of the Super League table for the first time this season after this hard fought victory over Felda United at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah last night. The position could shift after the completion of the weekend's programme with the top draw being title contenders Selangor entertaining Perak at the Shah Alam Stadium.

For The Turtles, the match against The Settlers was certainly a tough one with it coming just two days after the mental sapping 'Turtle' derby against PBDKT T-Team. Striker Abdul Hadi Yahya who was Terengganu's hero during the match with a fine goal, proved to be a match-winner once again with another wonderful strike just after over an hour of play.

This came after the visitors had managed to continually frustrate the home team with their pressing game and aided by Turtles who looked lethargic throughout. Terengganu players failed to display their usual passing game and with almost all moves broke down at one stage or the other.

The Settlers could consider themselves unlucky not to go two goals ahead in the first half when they hit the woodwork twice, the closest was when Bobby Chin pounced on a loose ball after Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee had parried a long range shot by Azrul Ahmad.

They even had the ball in The Turtles' net towards the end of the first half but former Terengganu player, Liew Kit Kong's effort was not counted as the referee's assistant had risen his flag for offside against Azrul during the move. Sharbinee was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers on the pitch.

In the second half Terengganu began to pull themselves together and began to look dangerous. However the Felda defence stood their ground and managed to repel these attacks.

The moment that turned the match around came in the 62nd minute when Felda failed to clear their line properly. When Joseph Kalang found Hadi with a lot of space, the striker had nothing but goal on his mind as he struck a right foot shot which dipped into the top corner, beating Felda goalkeeper, Hamsani Ahmad all the way.

The Turtles tried to increase their lead but in the end had to settle for this single goal victory which was enough to propel them to the Super League summit, even it was just for a twenty four hour period, at least for the time being.

Reflecting on the match, Terengganu Head Coach, Irfan Bakti admitted that his players were not at their best last night. Many were suffering from fatigue especially after playing in the 'Turtle' derby against T-Team. As one could have expected, playing in derby matches could take a lot on players.

Furthermore the way the fixtures are arranged by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) competition committee, it is certainly far from ideal for good quality football to be played throughout the season. The current fixture which started on 2 April (after the international break) teams will play one match every three days until 24 May. A total of 16 matches in 50 days.

Unless a team has a good strength in depth in their squad, any hope of consistently producing top class performance would be out of question. This is an aspect that FAM have to take note in order to increase the quality of football in this country.

For Terengganu fans, let enjoy this moment and hope it will last till the end of the season.

...

Great Comeback...

2011-04-10T10:50:00.000+08:00

...in kT!

It was not a welcome habit but it seemed to be entrenched in the way Terengganu play at the moment. Conceding a silly goal early in the match before making a comeback to take something out of the encounters with their opponents.

The match against Harimau Muda 'A' was the third time they conceded early in the match, this time a mis-kick by a Terengganu defender presented the chance for Syahrul Azwari Ibrahim to put the Young Tigers ahead just after seven minutes of play.

But one good thing from going behind in previous matches is the mental strength of the Turtles seemed to grow as they did not panic and played to their strength. Irfan Bakti's boys seemed to create a number of good scoring chances but were unable to convert these opportunities into goals.

Ten minutes after going behind Terengganu forced a corner when Harimau Muda skipper Mohamad Muslim blocked a shot from Ashaari Shamsudin. However, the Terengganu topscorer would not be denied his goal, connecting with Ismail Faruqi's corner with a powerful header that hit the bar before rebounding behind the goal line.

Terengganu continued their dominance after the equaliser. Ismail himself and Joseph Kalang saw their shots saved by Harimau Muda goalkeeper, Izham Tarmizi Roslan. The young custodian however could not do anything to prevent Abdul Hadi Yahya's shot from going past him in the 36th minute.

The goal was a result from a quick counter attack after the home defence managed to clear a corner by Harimau Muda. Ismail Faruqi made a long pass which found Abdul Hadi who managed to evade challenges from two Harimau Muda players before slotting the ball home.

Izham denied Hadi another goal with a wonderful save two minutes before the interval but he was beaten again when Abdul Manaf Mamat was put through and beat him with a delicate lob. Fortunately for the Harimau Muda goalkeeper, the goal was not counted as Manaf was flagged offside by the referee assistant.

Terengganu continued to press after the interval as they went out looking for the security of a third goal. Ashaari's hardwork and persistence paid off in the 64th minute when he won the ball in a midfield challenge.

He played the ball to Hadi who laid the ball into Ismail's path, giving him a clear run to Harimau Muda's goal. The midfielder kept his cool and finished the move with a side-foot which nestled gently in the Young Tigers' net.

Three-one to the Turtles and the margin could have been bigger had their players converted the chances that came their way after the third goal was scored. In the end it was enough for Terengganu to keep pace with the leaders.

PBDKT T-Team shock 2-0 win in Shah Alam against Selangor saw the Red Giants being pegged back by Kelantan who themselves were beaten by T-Team on Tuesday. Both teams were level on twenty points but the Stags have a better goal difference.

Perak missed the opportunity to climb to the top of the pile when they lost their unbeaten record this season, going down 2-1 to a Sabah team, struggling at the lower part of the Super League table. The defeat saw them dropped to third, just a point in front of Terengganu.

Goals from Norfarhan Mohamad and Indra Putra Mahyudin were enough to see off a poor Selangor side, which missed the chance to go in front in the first half when T-Team experienced goalkeeper, Syamsuri Mustafa saved a penalty by Razman Roslan.

Thirteen minutes into the second half Norfarhan rose unchallenged inside the box to head home a Zairo Anuar's free-kick. Part of the blame should also be borned by Selangor goalkeeper, Mohamad Iqbal who should have done better.

Then six minutes from time, Indra Putra latched onto a quick pass from Zairo and with consummate ease evaded challenges from the home defenders before finding the back of the net with a low shot.

The win was the third in succession for Yunus Alif's charges and they maintained their seventh place in the Super League charts. It should finally ease the pressure on the Head Coach who struggled to find the right mix for his team before the break for the FA Cup competition and the international friendly.

...

Great Comeback...

2011-04-07T13:18:00.001+08:00

...in Kuantan

It is very rare for mad redo1 to be able to cover away matches for either Terengganu or PBDKT T-Team as they would be playing on the same night, alternating home and away fixtures between the two teams. Thus most of the time mad redo1 will be covering the one playing at home.

Thus when the Pahang versus Terengganu fixture was re-arranged to be on different nights, mad redo1 grabbed the opportunity straight away to follow the Turtles to Kuantan.

With the two teams are scheduled to meet in the FA Cup semi-final in the middle of May, this match is seen as some sort of a dress rehearsal to that encounter.

Terengganu which salvaged a point against Negeri Sembilan in Paroi on Saturday after going behind to an early goal, found themselves in a similar situation at the Darul Makmur. A mazy run inside the box by from the right led to a goal for the home side scored by Fazli Baharudin just after four minutes.

After the goal, it was almost all Terengganu but a combination of good goalkeeping and wayward shooting by Terengganu players kept Pahang in the lead. Towards the end of the first half, Ashaari Shamsudin managed to put the ball into the Pahang net but his effort was ruled offside.

The Malaysian international continued his hard work and as the match was about to enter stoppage time found Abdul Manaf Mamat with a deft pass. The striker who scored the equaliser against Negeri Sembilan on Saturday put the ball past Pahang goalkeeper, Suffian Abdul Rahman, sending Terengganu fans in the stands into raptures.

The two teams went to the dressing rooms at the interval on level terms. The score did not last long. Just ten minutes into the second half, Ismail Faruqi floated a cross from the right and without breaking a stride, Ashaari connected with it using the outside of his left foot.

It was a breathtaking strike worthy of the 'Goal of the Season' award (seriously, this award has to be created soon) and one that would linger on the memory of Terengganu fans for a long time.

Terengganu continued to dominate but could not convert their dominance into goals as chance after chance went a-begging.

The situation was not ideal for the Terengganu fans as they feared Pahang could snatch a late equaliser which could bring the morale of the Terengganu players down. Fortunately, skipper Marzuki Yusof and his partner, Hasmizan Kamarodin marshalled the defence well to keep Pahang players at bay.

The Turtles climbed into fourth place, level on points with Felda United but with a slightly better goal difference.

For mad redo1 it was a worthwhile trip to Kuantan.

...

Kijang Shot...

2011-04-06T00:55:00.083+08:00

...in Kuala Terengganu

Super League leaders Kelantan came to Terengganu with one aim, to collect all three points at the expense of the home team, PBDKT T-Team which were struggling for form all season. For their fans, this was another opportunity to get one over their former idols, Indra Putra Mahyuddin, Norfarhan Mohamad and Azizi Matt Rose who crossed the border during the close season.

The two teams had met earlier during the First Round of the FA Cup competition in May. T-Team which were struggling for form and without a win at the time surprised The Stags with their tenacity and determination.

Indra Putra opened his goal account for T-Team during the match to cancel out Kelantan's lead. Both teams could not find a winner during regulation time and at the end of 120 minutes of play the score stood at 1-1. However luck was with the visitors as they went through 5-4 on penalties.

This time around things were no different. The home team were still struggling for form but had begun with a 3-0 win over Sabah in their first match after the FA Cup and international break. Kelantan on the other hand, were leading the Super League, albeit on goal difference over Selangor.

However, after an hour of play the league leaders found themselves three goals down after a superb free-kick by Zairo Anuar, a blistering shot from Farhan Mohamad and Indra Putra cool finish found their way past Malaysian international Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in the Kelantan goal.

Credit to The Stags they showed their quality as title challengers when they managed to pull two goals back in quick succession through Danial Fadzly and Chanturu to make the home fans sitting at the edge of their seats while giving the travelling contingent some hope of salvaging something from the match.

However, T-Team best players last season Harris Safwan Kamal gave his side some breathing space with a cool finish after controlling a wonderful cross from Indra Putra. But a second goal of the night for Danial from the penalty spot once again made the home fans feeling a bit jittery.

However, T-Team defence held on for a famous victory which would give them the much needed confidence to really turn their season around. With the next match is an away trip to Selangor it would be very interesting to see if Yunus Alif's boys really have what it takes to do just that.

But for the time being they just should revel in their first back to back victory this season, and to a certain extent giving one back to the team that dumped them out of the FA Cup by knocking them off the perch of the Super League summit.

...

Splashing Success...

2011-04-04T14:55:00.052+08:00

...at the Marina

The 2011 edition of Terengganu World Invitational Jet Race Challenge came to its end on Sunday with the conclusion of the Endurance category.

In the Pro Am Runabout Open Pancho Manjak of Team Yamaha Finland emerged as champion while Teera Settura of Settura Racing came in second. Dubai based Mendhy Menad of Team Yamaha Fox Riva finished in third place.

In the Pro-Am Runabout 800 Open, Thai racers took the top two places. Teera and Supak Settura of Settura Racing Team made it a Settura one-two finish while Mohamad Nayan Bakar of Fishbone Racing Team took third place.

While in the Women Runabout Open, favourite Nur Shahida Mohamad Noor of CTM Racing as expected romped to victory with Kundang rider, Aina Syazwani Mohamed Saffian and Club Terengganu Marina, Melissa Karina Yahya took second and third place respectively.

Experienced rider Ahmad Dawi Alias easily took the Veterans Runabout Open title. Ahmad Dawi who was representing CTM Racing saw off the challenge from Meganrata Racing rider, Chia Boon Choy and Japanese rider Masaya Inoue of Team Japan.

In the Malaysian only Expert Runabout Open, brothers Haniff Sukri and Zulfaizal Sukri made it a one-two finish for their team CTM Racing. Lau Soon Leong of Ah Huat Motor finished third.

Team Yamaha Finland rider Pancho Marjak made it a double for him when he took the top honours in the Pro-Am Runabout 4 Stroke Stock. Team Indonesia Aero Sutan Aswar finished second while Toshi 'Samurai' Ohara of Team WPS Japan took third place.

In the Novice Runabout 4 Stroke Stock category, Meganrata Racing rider Bryan Chia Wai Yuen was at the top of the podium. He was flanked by Aqsa Sutan Aswar of Team Indonesia in second place and Jetsar Racing Team, Elgernon Clayton Mindaw in third.

The Endurance category which tested the ability of man and machine to last the distance saw Seth Wilkinson of X1 Racing coming in at first place. Independent rider Zulfaizal Abu Bakar came in second place while Aero Sutan Aswar of Team Indonesia finished third.

The only woman rider in the Endurance race, Ika Natasya Yahya of CTM Racing finished in a credible ninth place.

Then prior to the prize giving ceremony, those who were present at the Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort Marina & Spa were entertained by a demonstration race of the powerful F3000 Powerboats.

To all winners and participants, CONGRATULATIONS!

...

The World...

2011-04-01T23:06:00.003+08:00

...Jet-ski-ing into Town

Today marked the beginning of the 2011 edition of Terengganu World Invitational Jet-ski Challenge. The competition is being held at the prestigious Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina Resort and Spa which is home of the renowned Monsoon Cup.

There was no race on the first day of April as it was allocated for registration of teams and participants, followed by free practice session on the race course. The sun shone brightly thus giving everybody their chance to test their machines.

mad redo1 will be back tomorrow morning at Ri-Yaz to capture the motos that are scheduled to take place beginning at 0930hrs. The challenge are divided into the following categories:

1 - Novice Runabout 4 Stroke Stoke (8 laps)
2 - Expert Runabout Open - Malaysians only (10 laps)
3 - Veterans Runabout Open - 40+ (8 laps)
4 - Pro-Am Runabout 4 Stroke Stock (10 laps)
5 - Women Runabout Open (8 laps)
6 - Pro-Am Runabout 800 Open (8 laps)
7 - Pro-Am Runabout Open (12 laps)

There are four motos to be completed by riders, three on Saturday while the fourth will be on Sunday. After the completion of the last moto, the Endurance Race will take place after lunch break.

The challenge attracts riders from Japan, Finland, France, the United States, Thailand, Brunie as well local riders from Malaysia, and of course, Terengganu.

There are a number of side attractions happening on Pulau Duyong, with traditional games such as sepak raga bulat, duck catching competition, four-a-side beach football and the main attraction, the F3000 Powerboat Demo Race.

More photos HERE.

...

Wise Man...

2011-03-27T05:55:00.017+08:00

...He Was Not!

The Higher Education League (Liga IPT) 2011 has begun since early March with a number of higher education institutions in Terengganu taking part. Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) are playing in the second division while Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Kolej Komuniti Terengganu (KKT) are trying to qualify to the divisional tournament from their Eastern qualifying group.

Unfortunately, mad redo1 is yet to be at any of the matches due to other engagements or fixture mix-up. The other day he went to the Gong Badak Sports Complex to cover a Liga IPT match between UMT and IKIP.

As it happened the week before when there was supposed to be a match between UniSZA and UniSel, there was also no Liga IPT match anywhere within the sports complex. Instead the Terengganu Sports School, SMK Bukit Nanas were taking on SMK Tun Hussien Onn of Johor in the 2011 U-17 Ministry of Education League.

Since he was already there, mad redo1 decided to snap a few shots of the match which already went underway. The sight of the pitch gave him much horror as it was already in a bad state due to the heavy rain that has fallen over the past few days.

To compound the matter, an U-14 match between the two schools had already taken place prior to the U-17 match on the same pitch. Terengganu were a goal to the good at the time.

Then the sky opened up and torrential rain with strong wind engulfed the complex leaving almost everybody drenched. The pitch was quickly becoming waterlogged and play was impossible. Fortunately the interval saved the players from taking further punishment from mother nature.

Many were thinking the match would have to be abandoned due to the state of the pitch. Most parts were waterlogged and the markings were not clear at all. However the match commissioner gave the thumbs up for the match to go on.

It was a decision that defied belief. Later mad redo1 heard one of the reason for the match to go on was to teach the players to play in such conditions.

What the heck?

Did he realise that playing in such conditions would invite potential injuries to the young players? Or there was no good football possible except for the 'Wimbledon' kind that kick the ball as far up the field as possible and hope it would bring an opening to the opponents' goal out of it.

To make matter worse was the way the referee was handling the match. He seemed to happily blow every time a Johor player went down and was quite generous in handing out cards to the home team players, which resulted in a double yellow for one just prior to half-time. However he was very lenient when it came to the visitors.

This drew howls of frustration from the majority of the crowd which already entered the officials area due to the heavy rain.

Then someone from the home camp shouted angrily in a general direction, more due to frustration than any intention to cause any trouble. Unfortunately, the match commissioner who was quite experienced due to his long involvement in football refereeing responded, which was surprising.

It became a heated exchange during which the commissioner shouted for the man to 'bark' outside. Being equalled to a dog was the last straw and the crowd became rowdy. A few more joined in and suddenly nobody care about the match anymore, and the fact that Johor managed to level the score late in the match.

It was a tense moment with the match officials having to stay on the pitch to avoid confrontation while the commissioner quickly packed his things and went into hiding near to the home dressing room.

It was a situation that could be avoided had the match commissioner practice restraint and patience. Instead of responding the way he did, the match commissioner should act nonchalant and just record the progress of the match and its situation.

Perhaps, he should be wiser and not continuing with the match at all in the first place due to the pitch and weather conditions during the match.

...

Turtles Through...

2011-03-20T05:09:00.121+08:00

...to the Last Four

Having done a good job in Ipoh last Tuesday, Terengganu completed the turn-around against Perak at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night with a 3-1 win. Goals from Reeshafiq Alwi, abdul Manaf Mamat and Abdul Hadi Yahya ensured The Turtles date with Pahang in the last four in May.

However, the match was in danger of being not played at all when circuit problems caused the floodlights to fail a number of times. However match officials decided to give it a go and the match went underway, albeit a few minutes off the scheduled kick-off time.

The home side made their intention clear from the start with Joseph Kalang Tie fired in a free kick from the right which was cleared in the second minute. Then his fellow Sarawakian Reeshafiq Alwi saw his shot from outside the box blocked by the Perak defence.

However, as the match entered its sixth minute, the light went out again much to the dismay of thousands of fans that throng the old stadium. The stadium was lit only by the light from the 'Supermoon' that made its once in 29 years appearance that night.

The likelihood of the match being postponed and played the next day was high. It could be a disaster for the home team. Fortunately, the match officials, much to their credit decided to give it another go when the lights was restored, perhaps thinking of a postponement would bring much anger to the fans.

Terengganu continued where they left prior to the blackout. The Perak defence had to be alert to stop a shot from Hadi and a minute later Ashaari Shamsudin broke through on the lft before squaring the ball to Manaf who could not direct his shot on target.

Perak continued to hold strongly while launching several attacks on their own but the Terengganu defence, led by skipper Marzuki Yusof who missed the first leg through injury was up to the task in quelling the visitors' attacks.

Goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin denied Hadi a goalscoring chance when he was quick enough to dive at the striker's feet after he was put through into the box in the 32nd minute.

Then six minutes before the interval Joseph Kalang delivered an inch perfect cross from the right and Reeshafiq stole between two Perak defenders to direct it past Nasril for the goal that put The Turtles in the driving seat.

They could go through on away goals rule if the score stayed the same till the end of the match. But Terengganu continued to press and with Perak having to attack to ensure their survival in the competition, they could exploit any gaps in the visitors' defence.

The sky opened up just when the match was about to end for the interval. The fans were soaked wet by the downpour but that did not dampen their support and the players responded well by continuing to press Perak, hitting the bar in the process.

Then six minutes after the restart Terengganu went ahead for the first time in the tie when Manaf blasted the ball from outside the penalty box and it went in at Nasril's near post. Terengganu were 4-3 ahead on aggregate.

The goal led to a spirited fightback by Perak who forced a succession of free-kicks around the Terengganu penalty area. Fortunately for the home fans the defence stood firm and goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee was alert enough to palm away a curling effort which was going on target.

However he could do nothing when fifteen minutes from time Perak striker, Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli levelled the aggregate score when his powerful shot from another free-kick hit the back of the net, despite Sharbinee managed to put a hand to it.

Terengganu still had the away goal advantage but they could not afford to just sit back and defend as another goal by Perak would knock them out from the competition. Joseph Kalang proved to be the torn in Perak's flesh all night with his tireless running and passing.

With just over ten minutes to go his pass put Hadi through and the striker shrugged off the challenge from two Perak defenders before stroking the ball past the diving Nasril, The Turtles were ahead again and they only needed to hold on for the remainder of the match.

For his effort throughout the match Joseph Kalang should have a goal to his name but it was not to be. He managed to create a chance for himself but could not keep his shot down.

With just a minute to go a stupid action by a section of the home fans saw the referee, Nagor Amir Noor Mohamad stopped the match. An object that was thrown by a fan had hit the referee assistant and this could see Terengganu being fined heavily by FAM.

More seriously, the match could be stopped which would be detrimental to Terengganu's cause.

Again, the referee decided to go on with the match after a while. There were four minutes of added minutes and during which Manaf and Ashaari tried their luck from afar but could not find the back of the net.

The four minutes went slowly for Terengganu fans but in the end the players prevailed and managed to hold on to the 3-1 scoreline as Perak tried their best to force extra-time with another goal.

Terengganu will play Pahang in an all east coast affair in the last four. The Elephants were held to a scoreless draw by Kuala Lumpur on Friday to advance on a 2-1 aggregate. The other semi-final will feature Selangor and Kelantan who overcame Johor and Felda United respectively with identical 5-2 aggregate victory.

RESULTS:

Pahang 0 Kuala Lumpur 0 (Pahang won 2-1 on aggregate)
Terengganu 3 Perak 1 (Terengganu won 5-4 on aggregate)
Johor 1 Selangor 2 (Selangor won 5-2 on aggregate)
Felda United 0 Kelantan 3 (Kelantan won 5-2 on aggregate)

2011 FA CUP SEMI-FINALS

Pahang vs Terengganu
Selangor vs Kelantan

The semi-finals are scheduled for 13 and 16 of May 2011.

...

Good Job...

2011-03-16T03:58:00.002+08:00

...in Ipoh

It was not the best of results but it was not the worst either. Terengganu lost the first leg of their FA Cup quarter-final tie against Perak 3-2 at the Perak Stadium last night. The home side took the lead going into the fifteenth minute of play through Isma Alif Mohamad Salim but Terengganu striker, Abdul Manaf Mamat restored parity five minutes before the interval.

The match was evenly balanced for most of the second half but a three minutes spell eleven minutes from time saw Perak sitting comfortably in front with goals from Mohamad Fazrul Hazli Mohamad Kadri (79th) and Akmal Rizal Mohamad Rakhli (83rd) gave the home fans the feel good feeling for the second leg on Saturday.

However, Terengganu midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi's 90th minute strike reduced the gap to just a single goal, which meant The Turtles only need a single goal victory in Kuala Terengganu to go through to the last four of the competition.

Many Terengganu fans are feeling confident that their team will be able to do the necessary when the second leg starts this Saturday.

In other matches, Super League leaders Kelantan and Felda United battled to a 2-2 draw in Kota Bahru with goals coming from Zamri Chin and Liew Kit Kong for The Settlers while skipper Badri Radzi and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scored for the home side as Kelantan failed to win for the second successive time.

The two sides will meet again on the same venue on Saturday for the second leg as the KLFA Stadium is still unavailable for football matches.

Another side which had to play their home match away from home was Kuala Lumpur. The City Boys 'entertained' Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium but fell behind when Amirul Ashraf Sayuti scored for the 'visitors' after half an hour.

Kuala Lumpur equalised through Ahmad Azlan Zainal ten minutes after the break but Pahang took a huge advantage for their home tie this Saturday when Azamuddin Akil netted their second in the 64th minute.

In the only tie involving team from the Premier League, Super League champions Selangor easily defeated Johor 3-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium. Hardi Jaafar, Rudie Ramli and Amri Yahyah found the back of the Johor net as the Red Giants looked like strolling to the last four.

However Mohamad Alif Mohamad Yusof pulled one back for the southerners to give them a glimmer of hope for the second leg tie in Johor Bahru.

RESULTS:

FA CUP QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

KUALA LUMPUR 1 vs PAHANG 2
PERAK 3 vs TERENGGANU 2
SELANGOR 3 vs JOHOR 1
KELANTAN 2 vs FELDA UNITED 2

...

Canaries Pecked Turtles...

2011-03-14T05:43:00.002+08:00

...Again!

Terengganu suffered their second defeat of the season when Kedah staged a comeback at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar on Saturday night. Midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi opened his goal account for The Turtles after half an hour of play with a stunning volley from outside the penalty box.

However, Terengganu who playing without the injured skipper Marzuki Yusof in defence could not contain the home side attack and two quick goals from Khyrel Muhymeen and former Turtle, Firdaus Faudzi in a four minutes spell in the 64th and 67th minutes brought back the cheers to the home side, whose team was under the supervision of Radhi Mat Din for the first time after Ahmad Yusof was given his 'leave'.

In Kuala Terengganu, PBDKT T-Team and Perak could not lift themselves to find the rhythm to display good football in front of the home crowd, which totalled to less than a thousand, perhaps influenced by the rain that has been coming down for the past few days.

In a dour match, unbeaten Perak were let down by their poor finishing. Their best chance came midway through the first half when their striker, having beaten goalkeeper, Syamsuri Mustafa could only send the ball into the side-netting.

The best chance for T-Team came towards the end of the first half during an a spell which saw they dominated the match, striker Haris Safwan's effort was cleared off the line by the Perak defence.

In the end, both teams had to settle for a nil-nil scoreline.

Terengganu and Perak dropped to fifth and fourth respectively in the Super League table after this round of fixtures. Kedah climbed to eighth while T-Team remained second from bottom of the table.

On the night which saw leaders Kelantan's unbeaten record came to an end in Kuantan, it was a big opportunity for Perak take the lead at the top of the table. However, as it turned out Kelantan remained at the top of the pile but now they were joined by last season Premier League champions, Felda United and defending Super League champions, Selangor on fourteen points.

Pahang registered their third win to climb to sixth, even though for many it was rather unexpected against the high riding Stags. Negeri Sembilan's season turned for the worse after their home defeat against Selangor, which would turn more heat on coach Wan Jamak.

Johor FC and Kuala Lumpur played to a scoreless draw the day before and the match between Sabah and Harimau Muda 'A' was postponed due to unplayable pitch even though there were reports of the match being awarded to the Young Tigers.

...

I am Sailing...

2011-03-13T11:27:00.002+08:00

...I am Sailing
Home again 'cross the sea
I am sailing, stormy waters
To be near you, to be free

Well, those are the opening lyrics to the famous 'Sailing' song by Rod Stewart. Part of it were true as the waters off Pulau Duyong was quite rough and the wind was challenging as mad redo1 and his band of brothers in the newly formed Team OMEGA took to the waters for the 2011 Heritage Bay Cup - Ides of March Edition.

With the recent high magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Japan, mad redo1 feared that the event might be cancelled but in the end it received a 'go ahead' from the relevant authorities.

With many of the Team AG:eing members were not available, thus the name was changed to Team OMEGA, mostly influenced by the hastily procured team attire which borne the name of the health drinks, Nesvita Omega Plus.

This time there was no Ai-Li in sight but we drew the name Sean who turned out to be a friend of the sea loving city girl. Sean told us Ai-Li would be starting a new job on Monday, thus could not make it to Pulau Duyong this time around.

Thus, mad redo1, Mat Ming and Abu of the original Team AG:eing boarded the F36 boat with a new set of crew of Vam, Jim, Robert and Airy. After an hour and a half practice session the team was ready for action which was scheduled to start at 1500hrs.

Once again, it was a good start and Team OMEGA finished the first race on a winward-leeward course in third place. The choppy waters and strong winds certainly tested the crew and with heavy rain coming down it was a whole new experience for mad redo1.

To mad redo1's amazement the exact same thing happened as it was during the Monsoon Cup Edition as Team OMEGA found themselves finishing last in the second race which was done in a trapezoid course.

Of course there was some moments when another team bumped into us which should have been penalised (but was not) and another hit the buoy (again, no penalty) that could see us finishing at least fourth.

The third race was back on a windward-leeward course and we rallied together and managed to finish fourth. with a 3-5-4 score, Team OMEGA occupied the the number four spot of the five teams event.

At least the initial objective of not finishing last was achieved.

Will Team AG:eing make a return in the scheduled June edition? It looks likely as Mrs Birch had already stated her intention to return and helms the F36 again.

To everybody in Team OMEGA, congratulations!

...

Howzat!

2011-03-09T02:27:00.003+08:00

It was by chance that mad redo1 saw a boy running on the SKPCT field and began to swing his arm in a way that reminded him of his cricket playing days. Then he threw the ball towards a familiar looking apparatus that resembled a wicket.

Wait a minute.

It was a wicket and there was a batsman waiting to hit the delivery mad by the bowler. There were people playing cricket on his school pitch, something took him really by surprise as the sports was not really popular in Terengganu.

His curiosity took him to the pitch side where he met a group of innocent looking boys and a few older ones. Sitting on a concrete stool was a man who looked like a teacher. He turned out to be a teacher.

Encik Kamaruddin Husain was part of the officials for the Terengganu Under-12 and Under-18 Cricket squad preparing for the MSSM Cricket tournament scheduled to be held in Seremban during the school holidays.

We got into a long conversation regarding the state of cricket in the state, where the Terengganu Cricket Association was recently re-registered as an active association after being de-registered a few years ago due to lack of activity.

Frankly, mad redo1 had been away from the cricket scene for too long to keep up with its development.

It was a surprise to him that cricket is more popular among the day school compared to the days when he was still in secondary school when the sports were only played by boarding schools with tournaments revolved around zones rather than national meet.

Encik Kamaruddin himself is a teacher from Guntong Secondary School in Setiu. Frankly, have you heard anyone playing cricket in Setiu before? But there you are, a few of their students made it to the squad for the U-18 squad. Only four are from boarding schools.

Unfortunately, it's development received little encouragement due to the fact it is not a core sports. With a preparation of just two weeks and little tournament experience to go by, Encik Kamaruddin does not put too much hope in challenging for honours in Seremban.

However, he hopes that for the junior team members will stay on in the sports in order to form a good base of players that will challenge for honours in the future.

Terengganu Under-12 Squad:

Wan Muhammad Najmuddin Wan Azmi (SK Kerandang, Besut); Muhammad Syafiq Fitri Aziz, Muhammad Hamizan Awang, Muhammad Azrie Ridzuan, Muhammad Khairul Amin Ismail (SK Sungai Buloh, Kuala Berang); Muhammad Rizan Tarmizi, Abdul Muhaimin Azhar (SK Balai Besar, Dungun); Muhammad Fikri Azli Amli (SK Gong Pasir, Dungun); Muhammad Daniel Abdul Ghaffar (SK Panchor Merah, Setiu); Muhammad Ammar Zakaria, Muhammad Fitri Mohamad Arman, Fairoz Fauzi (SK Bintang, Setiu); Hafiz Hakimi Sapri (SK Kompleks, Gong Badak); Muhammad Fahmi Norazezan, Qamaruddin Alias (SK Padang Kemunting, Kuala Terengganu)

Terengganu Under-18 Squad:

Muhammad Syahir Sazali, Amirul Syazwan Zokornain, Mohamad Khairul Azwan Sulaiman (SM Sains Dungun); Mohamad Nur Faris Mohamad Khir, Mohamad Faizuddin Abdul Kadir, Mahammad Asrul Mohamed, Mohamad Hasraf Adzmi, Tuan Mohamad Saiful Tuan Me (SMK Guntong, Setiu); Muhammad Azli Mohammad (SMK Kuala Jeneris, Hulu Terengganu); Abdul Hazim Awang, Muhammad Alif Mohammad (SMK Matang, Hulu Terengganu); Mohamad Muzammil Roslan, Ahmad Firdaus Mohamad Khir (SMK Tok Dor, Setiu); Mohamad Huzaifi Yahya (SMKA Nurul Ittifaq, Besut) Faiz Fawwaz Razak (SM Sains Sultan Mahmud)

Technical Chairman: Kasbie Yahya
Managers: Mohamad Hairi Mohamad Noor, Juhaimi Jaafar
Coaches: Yahya Mahad, Kamaruddin Husain

...

Wasted...

2011-03-08T02:02:00.002+08:00

...Youth

It is good to see many football fans in Terengganu are still willing to lend the support to the two Terengganu teams competing in the 2011 President Cup tournament. However this season saw both teams are in the bottom half of their respective group's standings.

PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) are in Group A while Terengganu are in Group B.

The former only managed a single win from four outings and yesterday's 3-1 defeat at home to Sabah left them in eighth place of the eleven team group. Their fortunes seemed to mirror their senior side's performance in the Super League, which incidently also managed to just a single win and a draw so far this season.

Terengganu on the other hand recorded a 4-1 win over Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan to register their first win of the season. The victory saw them placed seventh in their group.

The tournament is effectively a reserve league championship for Malaysian League sides and all players are restricted to a certain age. These players also are eligible to represent their senior side without having to be registered in the senior squad.

However, the quality of football on show so far has not been at the best level in relation to their age.

Perhaps reverting back to the practice a few seasons back when a maximum of three senior players were allowed to play in President Cup matches. It could increase the quality of the play on the field and at the same time players who do not play regularly for the first team will have the opportunity to play competitive football in order to maintain their match fitness and sharpness.

This is being practiced in top leagues in Europe and the young players will benefit from playing with senior players who should lead by example in terms of technical ability and also leadership skills.

But the thing is in Malaysia or in this case in Terengganu, the pyramid of football is not really a pyramid at all with the lack of football played at the much lower age groups means children are not equipped with enough basic skills in football, thus when they progress through the age groups, we could always see improper control of the ball, lack of positional sense and making the wrong decisions.

With the number of schools in each districts there are enough to create a school league for the under-12s, under-15s and under-17s which could see these children playing football competitively during the weekends for six to eight months of the year.

During the week they would be training with proper coaches and with experience gained through match exposure they would be progressing well in relation to their age group, and by the time they are in their mid-teens we should be able to determine whether these players have the quality to succeed or not.

Furthermore, these matches will give ample opportunities for scouts to keep an eye on any talented players that show potentials to become good players in the future.

Of course this is only a wish of someone who does not have any authority to make these changes. His only wish is someone in authority share the same vision and together we could work to make this a reality.

Until then, we will just have to make do with the usual fare dished to us, just like the one on the 'C' Pitch yesterday.

...

Awards...

2011-03-07T14:06:00.003+08:00

...Galore!

From a Ganuan perspective, the 100PLUS-SAM Awards 2010 was a disappointment when Dungun born Kierin cyclist, Azizulhasni Awang was pipped to the title of Best Athlete Award by diver Pandalela Rinong.

But putting state sentiment aside, it is good to see the Sarawakian diver's achievement during the year was recognised by those who should know who deserved the award the most, the nation's sportswriters.

The list of achievements by Pandalela who goes with the name 'Lulu Dolphin' in the world of Facebook are winning the first ever diving gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, beating Olympic medalists from Australia and Britain along the way in the 10m Platform event and later teaming up with Leong Mun Yee to win the silver medal in the Synchronised 10m Platform final.

Her maiden Asian Games outing was also laced with a silver lining with a silver medal in the Synchronised 10m Platform event while individually she managed to win the bronze medal.

Pandalela also performed well during the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore where she won two silver medals in the individual events of 3m Springboard and 10m Platform making her the first Malaysian to step on the podium in an International Olympic Council organised multi-event games.

Other sports-persons nominated for the award were squash queen, Nicol David; Lee Chong Wei the current world #1 ranked badminton player and shooter, Nur Suryani Taibi.

It is hoped Azizul who is rehabilitating from the recent track accident during the Track World Cup keirin final in Manchester will recover fully from his injury and bring more glory to Malaysia in the cycling world.

Other winners included Wushu exponent Yeap Wai Kin for Most Promising Athlete, Chong Wei who was awarded the Special Award from National Sports Association and the National football team, the Outdo Yourself Award for their winning outing in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Championship.

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!

NOTE: Info from Rizal Hashim's Loose Cannon

...

a Bit of Tries...

2011-03-06T03:21:00.019+08:00

...and Conversions

mad redo1 was never a rugby player, perhaps due to his slight frame (it is true) when he was in school and college, and also the lack of speed over the distance required. But then again he also did not have the temperamental to cope with a rugby match.

But the most important reason of all perhaps he always give preference to football than any other sports, and that included rugby. However he always enjoy watching rugby than the almost similar but totally boring American Football or in his books, American Handball.

Thus it was a pleasure for him to watch two highly competitive rugby matches during the weekends courtesy of his SKPCT buddy, Zulkarnain Nawawi.

It was the semi-final weekends in the Terengganu Rugby Association 2011 League for the two divisions under their wings. The Division One semi-finals saw UiTM Vultures meeting UMT Stingrays on Friday while Sultan Sulaiman Old Boys (SSOB) Cobras and Kuala Terengganu Rugby Club (KTRC) lock horns the next day.

The Division Two last four qualifiers were Lembah Bidong Old Boys (LBOB) who took Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute (TATI) on Friday. The semi-final line-ups were completed by Ranaco Rugby Club and Dato' Razali Ismail Teaching College.

It is good to see the rugby culture are still alive and kicking but admittedly getting the competition going on annual basis is a credit to the association itself. Of course with a better financial backing the league could be bigger thus creating a larger pool of players to choose from to represent Terengganu.

Back to the semi-finals. On Friday mad redo1's alma mater team, The Vultures emerged victorious against The Stingrays with a score of 28-12 to qualify for the Division One final while LBOB marched to the Second Division final after trouncing TATI 27-8.

Then on Saturday a mouth-watering match up between the Cobras and KTRC promised an exciting affair and with a long history between the two sides there was an extra 'heat' added to the match as well.

But mad redo1's mate, Zulkarnain was an old hand in handling these kind of matches and his firm yet flexible way of dealing with hot moments during the match ensured it never get out of hand.

With the Cobras leading 14-12 towards the end of the match, KTRC players surprisingly opted to go for a drive to score a try when a penalty was awarded within range of the Cobras' goal. If they had opted to kick the penalty and successfully scored it would have given them a 15-14 victory. In the end it was a drive to nowhere and the Cobras secured their place in the final.

Prior to the match Ranaco mauled Dato' Razali Ismail Teaching College 47-0 in the second Division Two semi-final.

It was a weekend of scrums, rucks, line-outs and a few other terms and mad redo1 thoroughly enjoyed his time watching the matches.

...

Army Defeated...

2011-03-05T15:38:00.075+08:00

...at Selayang.

Terengganu booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Malaysian FA Cup competition with a tight 3-2 scoreline against the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium in an afternoon kick-off yesterday.

Terengganu striker Abdul Hadi Yahya found the net for the sixth match in succession while a brace from Ashaari Shamsudin gave Terengganu two goal leads before ATM managed to reduce the score to just a single goal deficit on two occasions through Fatrurazi rozi and Yushaini Hafiz.

The current second placed team in the Premier League gave everything they got and perhaps boosted by the strong support from their ranks could have forced the Super League side into an extra thirty minutes of play.

However The Turtles held on to secure a meeting with Perak, who later that night defeated Sime Darby FC 3-0 at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh. It will be an interesting pairing with both are in good form, The Turtles are just a place below Perak in the Super League in third place and the 'Yob' outfit are still unbeaten this season together with league leaders, Kelantan.

The rest of the fixtures saw an upset in Paroi where holders Negeri Sembilan crashed out 4-2 on penalties to Kuala Lumpur after a goalless match. Another unexpected result was the defeat of the Canaries to Felda United with just a single goal separated the two sides after ninety minutes.

The rest of the favourites made it safely through to the last eight. Kelantan had to work hard at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang before winning by a solitary goal against Johor FC. Selangor defeated Harimau Muda 'B' 2-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium while at nearby MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya Pahang won 3-1 against PKNS FC.

In a solitary match played the day before Johor booked their place at the expense of Ong Kim Swee's Harimau Muda 'A' team. Perhaps the defeat would not be so bad after all as it will give the boys who will travel to Lahore to face Pakistan on 9 March in the return leg of the 2012 Olympic qualifiers a bit of breathing space after a hectic fixtures since the beginning of the season.

The draw for the quarter-finals:
KUALA LUMPUR vs PAHANG
PERAK vs TERENGGANU
SELANGOR vs JOHOR
KELANTAN vs FELDA UNITED

The first leg is scheduled to be played on 15 March while the return leg on 19 March.

...

Non-Coverage...

2011-03-03T12:41:00.003+08:00

...of The Coast.

It is quite disappointing when two of the nation's biggest cycling competition did not include Terengganu in their race routes. After having the opportunity to capture scenes from the 2010 le Tour de Langkawi from Kuala Terengganu to Kemaman and Putrajaya to Genting Highlands, mad redo1 was looking forward to get some shots of the competition again.

Unfortunately when the race map came out, the east coast was not even part of the race route at all.

But with Terengganu having it's own professional cycling team in Terengganu Pro-Asia Cycling Team (TCT), the state Menteri Besar Dato' Seri Ahmad Said already discussed the possibility of having east coast as part of the race route with the organiser. Hopefully the next edition will see Terengganu as part of the race once again.

Then another disappointment came when the route for 'Jelajah Malaysia' (Tour of Malaysia) was announced. It's six stages cover just four states: Johor, Pahang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. So much for the name 'Jelajah Malaysia'.

Of course there could be limitations that hinder the race organiser from covering the whole of Malaysia but as an avid sports photographer it left mad redo1 feeling extremely disappointed.

With the TCT taking part in both races, it is his high hope of being able to capture the team in action when they go through the stage involving Terengganu like in 2010. Unfortunately it was not meant to be.

Maybe mad redo1 should commit himself to cover for the whole duration of both tours in the future. Who knows?

...

Bees Swatted...

2011-03-02T17:52:00.005+08:00

...by Turtles.

Terengganu recorded their third win in their 2011 Super League campaign after defeating Johor FC 3-0 at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night. The win lifted The Turtles to third in the table behind unbeaten leaders Kelantan and second placed Perak.

Irfan Bakti boys were straight into attack mode right from the start and their efforts paid off in the sixth minute when a long ball by Ismail Faruqi from inside his own area found forward Ashaari Shamsudin on the left.

He then made a low delivery into the box where striker Abdul Hadi Yahya had timed his run to perfection to slot in his fifth goal this season in all competitions. It was also the fifth match in a row the former T-Team striker scored for his new team.

Seven minutes later Ashaari was fouled on the left and referee Ku Alauddin Ku Muhammad awarded the home side a free-kick. Spotting Johor FC goalkeeper, Mohamad Anis Faron was quite far away from his goal, Terengganu midfielder Ismail Faruqi just lobbed the ball over his head.

The custodian perhaps was anticipating a cross rather than a shot, which left him stranded in no man's land.

Joseph who worked hard throughout the match saw a number of his shots saved or blocked by the visitors defence. The closest he came to scoring was in the 69th minute when he blocked an attempted clearance made by Anis. Much to the goalkeeper's relief it went just wide of his goal frame.

Terengganu continued to press with Ashaari and substitute Ahmad Nordin attempted their luck from distance.

Then in the 77th minute Joseph was once again fouled just outside the box. In a move from a training ground routine Terengganu defender Nik Zul Aziz Nawawi nearly scored his first goal for The Turtles but could not keep his shot down.

Two minutes later Terengganu had their third goal when Hadi found Saha at the edge of the box. The forward let fly and despite the attention from a Johor FC defender the ball flew in past Anis who clearly had a miserable time in Kuala Terengganu last night.

Nine minutes from time another Terengganu defender Helmi Remeli tried his luck from an acute angle, attempting to lob Anis from outside the box but he could not keep his shot down.

The Bees had lost their sting and the match was just played out with neither side able to breach each others' goal again.

Meanwhile at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya, PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) could not build on their win over Perlis on Saturday when they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Felda United. Goals by Faderin Kadir and Bobby Chin were enough to condemn T-Team to their fourth defeat of the season.

Last night results saw Terengganu climbed back to third they occupied briefly on Friday, level on points with Selangor and Felda United but with better goal difference. T-Team meanwhile dropped back to the bottom two after Sabah managed to avoid defeat in their match against Pahang but it was Johor FC who occupied the place above T-Team.

...

'Blitzkrieg'...

2011-02-27T16:59:00.003+08:00

...in Kuala Terengganu.

Two quick goals by PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) early in their match against Perlis were enough to see off the challenge from the young Northern Lions side which prior to the match shared the unenviable record with the home side of being the only teams without a win this season.

It was a relegation six pointer despite being played so early in the season with both coaches knew it was vital for their team to win. T-Team Head Coach Yunus Alif had outlined his battle plan during an interview that his team could not afford to let the young Perlis players to settle in the match.

Thus he encouraged his team to press hard early on and three minutes into the match it paid off. Experienced forward, Indra Putra Mahyudin found himself with a bit of space inside the box and unleashed a low shot which Perlis goalkeeper, Hairol Fazreen did well to parry but Khairul Izwan Khalid was on hand to tuck in the loose ball.

The former Felda United player was playing tonight due to the sudden illness that befallen Haris Safwan Kamal, T-Team topscorer last season.

Then seven minutes later Indra also had his hand in T-Team's second goal. Again the forward was allowed too much space and his shot came off the post. Midfielder Badrul Hisani was smart enough to anticipate and managed to get ahead of Perlis defender Mohamad Fazly Baharum and diverted the loose ball into the empty net for his first goal of the season and also his first for his new team.

Then after a quarter of an hour gone Perlis were handed a lifeline when referee Mohamad Yusof Mat Karim adjudged T-Team defender Azizi Mat Rose to have handled the ball inside the box and awarded the away team a penalty.

However Mohamad Faiz Subri failed to hit the target with his effort.

The match seemed to peter out after that. T-Team midfielder Tengku Hasbullah Raja Hasan was presented with a one on one opportunity with the goalkeeper but was denied by the young custodian. A minute later Mohamad Norfarhan failed to connect with a corner after he was left unmarked at the far post.

Then as the match was reaching the hour mark, T-Team were awarded a free-kick. Skipper Rosdi Talib delivered the ball into the box where Khairul Izwan connected well to head home his side third goal.

The rest of the match saw T-Team tried hard to increase their goal tally but in the end had to settle for the 3-0 scoreline, which marked their first win of the season, a point where many of their fans were hoping they would kick-start their 2011 Super League campaign in earnest.

...

'Away' Win for Turtles...

2011-02-26T08:41:00.103+08:00

...at SSiNS.

Terengganu registered their second away win of the season in the Malaysian Super League against Kuala Lumpur last night. However, due to the unavailability of the KLFA Stadium in Cheras, which was undergoing upgrading works the match was held at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.

Thus it was an away match at home for the Turtles.

During the early part of the match, it was Kuala Lumpur who looked more at home on the newly laid turf of the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah. They had a free-kick landed on top of the Terengganu goal while loose marking by the 'away' side saw The City Boys being presented with a free header which they could not divert on target.

However, after a while Terengganu gradually began to find the rhythm and took the match to the 'home' side. In the 25th minute Abdul Manaf Mamat was fouled inside the penalty area and Ashaari Shamsuddin took the responsibility from 12 yards.

He hit the post with his effort but the rebound fell kindly to him and Ashaari duly turned the ball over the line. However the crowd's celebration was cut short when the referee disallowed the goal as the ball was yet to be touched by another player after Ashaari took the kick.

Terengganu continued to press and Abdul Hadi Yahya came close a couple of minute later but his shot was saved by KL goalkeeper, Norazlan Razali.

Then much to the surprise of many fans, Terengganu made their first substitution in the 36th minute when Head Coach, Irfan Bakti took out the out of sort Zharif Hasna and sent on Ismail Faruqi in his place.

With six minutes to go before the interval, Ashaari dribbled the ball from the left before passing it to Hadi who unleashed a shot beyond the diving Norazlan. It was Hadi's fourth goal in four consecutive match for The Turtles.

A minute later, there was a shout for penalty when Ashaari was brought down inside the box but the referee, Suhaizi Shukri waved play on. As the match drew to a close Terengganu continued to attack and from a free-kick, skipper Marzuki Yusof hit the wall with a stinging drive.

Then in added time Hadi cut inside from the left and squared the ball to Ashaari whose shot was saved for a corner. From the resulting corner Marzuki had a another go at a loose ball but his effort lacked power and direction.

The second half began on the same note with Terengganu controlling most of the match. Then in the 52nd minute an error by a KL defender saw Ashaari regaining possession and the forward darted into the penalty box.

Despite the attention from two KL defenders, Ashaari managed to swivel and unleashed a right foot shot which crept past Norazlan, who could have done better getting down to the ground. Terengganu were two goals to the good.

It should have been three five minutes later but after defender Ronny Harun managed to head down the ball into his path, fellow defender Helmi Remeli could only shoot into the side-netting.

After over an hour of play, KL were down to ten men when Ahmad Jihad Ismail was shown his second yellow card of the match for a foul on Joseph Kalang Tie. With a quarter of an hour to go Terengganu was forced to make another substitution when midfielder, Reeshafiq Alwi was hurt and was replaced by Safuan Adli Shaari.

Then with seven minutes to go a misunderstanding between goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee and defender Nik Zul Aziz Nawawi saw KL substitute, Yong Kuong Yong sneaking in between the two of them and headed the ball towards goal. Despite his desperate scramble Sharbinee just could not prevent the ball from rolling over the line.

It should have marked the signal of a comeback by KL but the match went flat after the goal as Terengganu held on to secure another three points and climbed to third in the Super League table, a position which should last for twenty four hours at least.

...

Reasonable Lead...

2011-02-24T03:39:00.001+08:00

...to Lahore.

Malaysia will take a two goal lead to Lahore when meeting Pakistan in the second leg of the 2012 Olympic Qualifier First Round match. It could have been a bigger lead but a combination of failing to find the target and inspired goalkeeping by the visitors kept the score to just 2-0 by the end of the ninety plus minutes.

Head Coach Ong Kim Swee could not have wished for a better start from his boys when Wan Zaharul Nizam Wan Zakaria scored just after four minutes. The midfielder latched on to a loose ball from a corner and with his back to the goal Zaharul took an extra touch before unleashing a shot on the turn which flew past the entire Pakistan defence.

Photo by Fazdlie Ahmad 'Deto'

The crowd at the Shah Alam Stadium erupted with joy and many would have been expecting it a was a floodgate being open to more goals.

Unfortunately their expectations remained unfulfilled with quite a number of chances went a begging. However Malaysia were handed a break in the last few minutes of the first half when Pakistan were reduced to ten men when red mist descended on their striker Ansar Abbas.

The striker went up with Malaysia goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi to challenge for a high ball but it was the custodian that came out on top. However, Ansar pushed ball out of Khairul's hands, a foul which was spotted by Hong Kong referee, Liu Kwok Man. Perhaps not satisfied the decision Ansar kicked at Khairul which left Mr Liu with no choice but to flash the red card.

Perhaps they were shocked by the decision but The Pakistanis seemed to lose their concentration and Malaysia made the most of this situation. From an attack the ball was delivered into the box frpm the left. The Pakistan defence tried to clear the ball but it felt to Irfan Fazail who was lurking at the top of the box.

He connected sweetly with a first timer and the low shot went past the Pakistan defence and the unsighted goalkeeper Yousuff Ejaz Butt. It was not a night to remember for Yousuff when he was replaced by his coach, Tareq Lutfi with Muhammad Umer.

It proved to be a wise decision by Tareq as Umer turned out a blinder as he kept Malaysia at bay in the next forty five minute. Of course his job was made easier by Malaysian players who failed to find the target on a number of occassions.

But not conceding a goal during the match could prove to be more pivotal and if they could score an early goal in Lahore then the tie could be as over with Pakistan needing to score four goals in order to advance.

Not to sound cocky but it will be too much to ask from the Pakistanis. But then again, football could be so unpredictable thus Ong kim Swee's boys should not be complacent with the win.

COME ON TIGERS!

...

Persisting...

2011-02-22T06:31:00.004+08:00

Gap.

Being away to Kedah and Perlis meant mad redo1 missed the FA Cup matches between T-Team and Kelantan. Then the planned extra trip to Penang to catch USM FC vs Terengganu at the USM Athletic Stadium had to be shelved due to lack of time.

While back home the National Badminton Circuits Finals were being held at the State Stadium in Kuala Terengganu from 18-21 February 2011. However with mad redo1 checking in at 2230hrs on Sunday meant he only had the final day itself to get some shots of the actions.

The main draw for the finals of course the Men's Single Final between World No.1 Dato' Lee Chong Wei against youngster Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif who defeated several seeded players to qualify for his first national final.

The Mixed Doubles match was underway when mad redo1 stepped into the arena. The title was being contested by Tan Boon Heong-Chin Eei Hui against Chan Peng Soon-Goh Liu Ying. The latter won the first set but Tan and Chin fought back to win the next two sets and clinched the title with a 13-21, 21-18, 21-16 score.

Then it was the Women's Singles Final between defending champions Tee Jing Yi and Sonia Cheah. The match also went to rubber set after Sonia tied the score after losing the first set. However Tee was in her element in the deciding set to clinch her second successive National title with a 21-14, 15-21, 21-14 result.

By this time the arena was packing up with badminton fans eager to catch their hero Chong Wei in action against the young upstart, Mohamad Arif.

However, when the match started, it was clear the gulf of class was that big between the World No.1 and the 22 year old shuttler from Negeri Sembilan. Trying hard as he might Arif was clearly not on parity in terms of ability and experience with Chong Wei who was playing for his ninth National title.

However, one could see there was grit and determination in the youngster's game and given more time and exposure he could fulfill his potential to become an international class player.

However, this time Arif bowed to Chong Wei who wrapped the match with the score of 21-16, 21-15 in 40 minutes. Still the crowd seemed to be generally satisfied and entertained with the match.

The next two finals saw both the Women's Doubles and Men's Doubles took place. Despite not featuring top pairs in the country, the number of crowd that stayed on till the end were quite large.

The partnership of Ng Poau Leng-Woon Khe Wei clinched the Women's Double title with a straight set victory of 21-18, 21-10 over Chong Sook Chin-Goh Liu Ying. While the last title of the night was won by the pair Tan Boon Heong-Hoon Thien How who defeated Ong Soon Hock-Fairuzizuan Tazari 21-14, 10-21, 21-19.

...

Scraping...

2011-02-19T23:25:00.002+08:00

...Through

mad redo1 had planned to attend this evening Terengganu FA Cup First Round match against Premier League USM FC at the university's athletic stadium. It was a repeat of the first round match last season in the same competition but a change of format saw the first two rounds being played over a single match.

Unfortunately, the day being a special day for someone, the plan was shelved as he spent the time munching away at the seafood served at the No.4 Stall at the Kuala Perlis Jetty.

Thus he did not know much about the match played at the same time, approximately three hours drive from where he was. From what he gathered it was a stroll for The Turtles in the first half but could not make the most of the chances that came their way.

Penang born, Mohamad Zharif Hasna who was in his second season with Terengganu opened the scoring after twenty minutes before striker Abdul Hadi Yahya scored for the third consecutive match just before the interval.

The second half saw the home side put up a more determined fight and managed to reduce the deficit after an hour of play. Perhaps influenced by last season's result when Terengganu won 4-1 here before winning 3-0 in Kuala Terengganu, The Turtles slowed down the tempo and this invited the home side to come at them.

Sharbinee Allawee was certainly the busier goalkeeper in the second half and made at least a couple of crucial saves to ensure the tie was in his team favour. In the end, the 2-1 scoreline was enough for Terengganu to proceed to the next round.

As for mad redo1 it was a topping to a good evening spent in the northern part of Malaysia.

If she is a keen football fan then it would have been a good evening for her, but she is not. But My Dearest Linda, I love you for what you are. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY and may God bless you always.

...

Penalty...

2011-02-18T23:52:00.002+08:00

...Heartbreak.

It was a match eagerly awaited by football fans. The transfer wrangling between the two teams during the close season involving three players now playing for the home team was the source of the 'heat' surrounding the match.

For Kelantan fans it was an opportunity by their team to show that life goes on for them without the trio. And life is indeed very well for 'The Kijang' with their current position at the top of the pile in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) while PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) are languishing in the bottom rung of the MSL.

Thus the stage was set for an explosive encounter. However, at stake was a place in the second round of the Malaysian FA Cup and a result must be reached during this match after the format was changed from a two legged affair to just a single match knock-out match for the first two rounds of the competition.

Unfortunately mad redo1 was not around to witness the match first hand and to snap a few shots from it. He was away in Kedah fulfilling a promise made to his other half since the day he got hitched way back in mid-nineties.

Being away meant he missed witnessing Indra Putra Mahyudin's first competitive goal for his new team, cancelling the opener by Kelantan's Rizal Fahmi Rosid, eight minutes after the latter scored in the 53rd minute.

Then of course he missed witnessing national striker, Terengganu born Norshahrul Idlan Talaha missed from the spot that could have prevented the extra thirty minutes from being played to separate the two teams.

In the end the lottery of penalties went in favour of the visitors but for T-Team and their supporters could take heart from their battling performance in holding the current league leaders to a draw.

It was just lady luck that did not smile on them during the shootout.

Hopefully she will when T-Team take on the field again on Saturday against bottom team Perlis. With Indra scoring his first goal of the season hopefully there will be more to come from him and his team-mates to ensure a good season for T-Team after a very poor start to it with just a point to show after four matches.

But the battle for FA Cup is over, at least for this season.

...

Dual Defeats...

2011-02-16T03:24:00.077+08:00

...for Ganuans.

The fourth round of matches in the 2011 Malaysian Super League (MSL) saw both teams from Terengganu suffered away defeats. Terengganu surrendered their unbeaten record at the Shah Alam Stadium where they went down fighting 3-2 against a Selangor side playing their first match without striker, Safee Salee who had joined Indonesian club Pelita Jaya.

While it was Terengganu first defeat of the season, PBDKT T-Team (T-Team)'s 1-0 defeat to Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan saw their losing run continued. It is now three defeats out of four, with just a point on board from the opening day goalless draw against Kedah in Alor Setar.

The defeat left Terengganu and T-Team at eighth and thirteenth place respectively in the MSL.

T-Team coach, Yunus Alif must be feeling the pressure after still winless going into their fourth match against Pahang. His assembly of star and vastly experienced players still could not conjure up the magic that many Ganu football fans are expecting after big names such Indra Putra Mahyudin, Norfarhan Mohamad, Zairo Anuar and a few others signed for them in the close season.

Many were expecting they would be able to register their first win with Pahang just a place above them prior to the match. But T-Team were a bit slow in getting their game on and just after three minutes they were already a goal down. Zaiza Zainal Abidin tapped in from close range after a free-kick from Azamudin Akil fell kindly for him.

Tried as they might T-Team just could not find a way to bulge the home side net with the closest coming from an effort by Indra whose attempt rocked the frame of the goal but went out of play. In the end, the defeat was more due to unfortunate circumstances rather than lack of effort by the players.

Terengganu meanwhile found themselves three goals down after just under an hour of play, the reverse of the situation when they were playing Perlis on Friday in Kangar. A wonderful half volley by Fazlli Shaari in the 17th minute broke the deadlock after a one-two with Hardi Jaafar had created the opening for the former KL PLUS FC player.

Then a minute into the second half Selangor were two goals in-front when Fazli turned provider this time, supplying the ball for his skipper Amri Yahyah to connect with a looping header thet left Terengganu goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee grasping air.

Photo by Jeroe

During last season Malaysia Cup campaign, Azidan Sarudin scored for his team Kuala Lumpur from a long distance free-kick against Terengganu in Kuala Terengganu to give his team a 1-0 win.The former Kuala Lumpur skipper repeated the feat against the Turtles but this time around from an open play situation. His long shot slipped past the unsighted Sharbinee who saw the ball too little too late.

Then Terengganu began their fightback when Hadi was fouled inside the box and Malaysian international, Ashaari Shamsudin dispatched the ball past Iqbal Suhaimi in the Selangor goal. Despite trying very hard The Turtles only managed to reduce the deficit just by one more goal when Hadi slipped in unnoticed at the far post to turn Ashaari low ball into the Red Giants goal with three minutes to go.

Even though they tried very hard Terengganu just could not find their way past Iqbal again and found themselves beaten for the first time this season.

...

Northern Lions...

2011-02-12T01:07:00.012+08:00

...Slayed!

Terengganu registered their first win in the 2011 Super League campaign with a comfortable 3-1 victory over bottom team, Perlis at the Utama Stadium, Kangar last night. First half goals from Abdul Hadi Yahya and Ashari Shamsudin gave The Turtles the lead at the interval before Abdul Manaf Mamat converted a penalty in the second period, making it 3-0 for Irfan Bakti's men in white.

A wonderful strike by Mohamad Hafizuan Salehudin with around twenty minutes to go gave the home fans something to shout about, praying rather than expecting a fightback was on the cards for their young team. It turned out to be just a consolation for Perlis, which still looking for their first win of the season after three matches.

Terengganu made their intention clear from the start that they came to Kangar looking for their first win of the season and while the Perlis side had youth on their side it was their inexperience that the visitors intended to exploit.

Joseph Kalang and Hadi came close several times for Terengganu before they eventually broke the deadlock. Ironically it came after Perlis had their best chance of the match, rocking Sharbinee Allawee's bar from a free-kick.

In the 23rd minute a pass from Zharif Hasna found Joseph inside the box. The Sarawakian played the ball short to Manaf who turned it towards goal. It was going wide until Hadi popped up at the far post to open his goal account for the new season and also for his new team after his close season switch from PBDKT T-Team.

Before the Perlis players could regroup they found themselves two goals behind when Joseph played a long ball from inside his own half to Ashari. His deft touch took the ball past the goalkeeper and from an acute angle slotted the ball home despite some desperate defending by the home defence.

Towards the end of the first half Perlis began to find some rhythm and tested Sharbinee in quick succession but the Terengganu defence stood firm. Instead it was the visitors who looked likke adding to the tally before the break with Ashari seeing his free-kick which was going in at the top corner before the goalkeeper intervention.

Another free-kick saw a scramble inside the Perlis penalty area before it fell to Terengganu skipper Marzuki Yusof who hit it on the volley. The goalkeeper was completely beaten but it landed on the wrong side of the bar.

The second half saw the same story continued with Terengganu maintaining control of the proceedings. However it was Perlis who were the early aggressor when the match resumed. unfortunately they could not find a way past the Terenganu defence.

The Turtles were three goals to the good when during a quick counter-attack by Terengganu saw Ashari being fouled inside the penalty area. Manaf who was making his first start for the season took the responsibility from the spot and duly converted the chance for his first goal of the season.

However Perlis continued to fight, which was a piece of good news to their coach, Mustaqim Omar. Then in the 68th minute they got their reward when a flowing move saw the ball reached Hafizuan who unleashed a shot from outside the box. It went in at the top corner with Sharbinee completely beaten.

It should be nominated for 'Goal of the Season' award.

Perlis tried to press for more goals but they were caught several times when Terengganu managed to launch quick counter-attacks. During one such move Ashari and the goalkeeper collided. During the confusion Hafizuan threw the ball at the referee, and having received a yellow card during the penalty incident earlier, the second one meant he had to go off.

With ten men there was no way back for Perlis and Terengganu coasted for their first win of the season. the win propelled Terengganu to second spot of the Malaysian Super League table, for twenty four hours at least before the rest take the field on Saturday.

...

Two Goals...

2011-02-10T04:17:00.001+08:00

...to the Good.

Malaysia won 2-0 against Hong Kong in an international friendly match at the Shah Alam Stadium last night. There was no scene of celebration in Kuala Terengganu tonight as there was nothing much at stake.

At first mad redo1 rode his Mortimer to T-Cafe, the scene where celebrations were loud and boisterous after the final whistle of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup was blown and Malaysia were crowned champions. Unfortunately, it did not show the telecast on its big screen this time (how unpatriotic).

It was not Indonesia, of course. But the first outing for the Malayan Tigers after the successful campaign in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup was equally important as fans would want to see the continuation of the good work that have been done during the tournament.

With none of his GSN mates around he decided to ride around and after riding around for a few minutes he went to the Shahbandar. Much to his surprise the match was telecast on the big screen there. Thus he parked his Mortimer and sat his bums and set himself to see the Malayan Tigers in action again.

There were a few changes in the starting line-up with Aidil Zakuan returning to the centre of defence, partnering Fadzli Shas. In midfield Gurusamy started the match in the position occupied by Amar Rohidan during the Suzuki Cup. While Safee Salee had Ahmad Fakri Saraani as his partner instead of Norshahrul Idlan Talaha who began the match on the bench.

The match was largely played in the middle but it was Malaysia who first had their sight on goal with Safee's half volley stinging the Hong Kong goalkeeper into action. With the action being largely played in the middle there were not many chances.

(Image was taken from Sukan Mania page)

As the match was edging towards the interval Malaysia's persistent play paid off when skipper Safiq Rahim chased a seemingly lost cause bear unexpected fruit. A Hong Kong defender tried to shield the ball from Safiq but he miscalculated his attempt and fell to the ground.

In the process his feet kept the ball in play which Safiq gleefully took and after beating another defender unleashed a low shot which beat the goalkeeper at the near post. Rajagobal's men went to the dressing room with a single goal lead.

The match became livelier in the second half as the visitors tried to take something out of the match. Goalkeepers Khairul Fahmi and his substitute, Farizal Marlias both had to made several routine saves but overall the Malaysian defence dealt with everything Hong Kong threw at them.

Kunanlan and substitute Mahathevan both had opportunities to give their country a healthier lead but failed to hit the target with their attempts. Then as the match seemed to end with just a goal, Amirulhadi Zainal received a wonderful long pass from Sabree Abu inside the box.

The Selangor winger's first touch was a bit heavy and took the ball wide from the goal. At first it seemed the goalscoring opportunity was lost but Hadi kept his cool and swung his right foot. The ball hit the retreating goalkeeper, wrong-footing the covering defender before trickling into the net.

It was 2-0 and in the end it was all that matters for all Malaysians.

For mad redo1 the way the Malaysian team played it was a sign of maturity with every player seemed comfortable on the ball and when passing it around. Everybody seemed to be on the same wavelength most of the time.

However, it was just a friendly and the real deal will come when they face better quality oppositions in a more competitive environment. But until that day, it was certainly a win to enjoy before life returns to Super League action this Friday with Terengganu travelling to Kangar to face the Northern Lions while T-Team 'entertain' the Young Tigers.

Current standings of the Super League after two round of matches.
(click for a larger view)

...

Passing...

2011-02-08T08:15:00.004+08:00

...of a Friend.

The Birch a.k.a. mad redo1 spent the morning of Friday, February 4 with two of his ex-Semesdians friends, Achey and Mat Ming. At first, the intention was to have 'Ketupat Sotong' (Squid stuffed with glutton rice served in coconut milk plus a few other items) for breakfast, a craving of the former who had the dish the last time he was back in Kuala Terengganu.

Unfortunately, it was not the season of the squids and the scarcity of the calamari perhaps influenced by the monsoon which is yet to cease. So we settled for another local dish, the famous 'Nasi Dagang' (another glutton rice base dish) which much to our amazement came with fried chicken and hard boiled egg.

To the uninitiated, nasi dagang are usually served with 'Ikan Aya' (Tongkol for non-Ganuan, Tuna for English speakers) and pickles. Mat Ming who joined us a bit later helped himself to a plate of 'Nasi Minyak'.

After all the dishes were safely tucked inside our stomach and paid for, we went our seperate ways. Then just as I was getting ready for Friday Prayer the phone rang with the familiar tone of a message was received.

After all the laughter this morning, it was a shock to read the message which came from another ex-Semesdian friend, Ku Jimmy. A friend of ours, Ridzuan Safuan or more affectionally known as Doer has passed away in the morning.

'Arwah' suffered from brain cancer and had undergone surgical oncology a few months back. It was the second time he had gone through the procedure but this time time around it resulted in him losing his eyesight.

mad redo1 and a few other friends paid him a visit while he was still in the Intensive Care Unit at the USM Hospital in Kubang Kerian. That was the first time I saw him since our last meeting, way back in 1991 during a reunion of ex-Semesdians at the Motel Desa.

He looked frail and weak (who wouldn't be after having your head cut open?) but responded to the sound of our voice. It was a sad moment but at the same time gave us a bit of a lift with his reaction. It was a fifty-fifty situation but subsequent news from his family were positive despite him did not regain his eye-sight.

Thus the news of him passing away on Friday came a bit as a surprise. Unfortunately, prior commitments prevented me from attending his funeral, so were a few other friends.

Admittedly, he was not one of my closest friends and the amount of conversation we had during our five years stay at SMSD were minimal to say the least. Perhaps it was more due to the fact we were placed at the opposite ends of our hostel, I was in the A Block while he was in the D Block.

But as we grew into adults the difference during our adolescence years just went away and despite not keeping in touch for a number of years, the news of Doer suffering from cancer and his subsequent demise tugged at my heart and it felt like I am losing a friend.

So Doer, may you rest in peace.

Al-Fatihah.

...

Back...

2011-02-05T04:36:00.019+08:00

...on the Pitch!

"Baby it's good to be back
So good to be back
Baby it's good to be back,
in your arms again"

Those are the words sung by Natalie Cole in her song: "Good To Be Back".Of course for mad redo1 it is certainly good to be back, but in his case it is good to be back on the pitch playing the sports he loves most: football.

In conjunction with the long Chinese New Year holiday when many GanuSoccer.Net forum members made their way home from all over Malaysia, a get-together event was organized to give GSN members an opportunity to meet and catch up with the latest happenings.

The event was held at the 'C' Pitch of the Gong Badak Sports Complex. A few members brought some food to give it a pot-luck feel. At first, mad redo1 planned to bring fried bee-hoon, unfortunately lack of time saw him bringing poppiah instead.

Members were divided into two teams, aptly named GSN A and GSN B. mad redo1 was included in the latter and took the field for the whole of the match. It watch not for the faint-hearted as in the end the score stood at 7-7, giving it a bit of a futsal feel.

Conceding seven goals was not a good way to mark your return to the field but mad redo1 could console himself knowing that he played behind a generous defence which liked to go forward a lot. He even managed to save a penalty but could not prevent the rebound from being slotted past him by an opponent.

(Thank you Hamzi Fahmi for the photo)

It was a good outing and perhaps could lead to a few more 11-a-side matches involving GSN playing against other teams around town. mad redo1 certainly hopes so. But in order for him to give his best (for a 40 year old goalkeeper) some trainings are required.

So, to more football this year!

...

Improvements...

2011-02-03T08:45:00.001+08:00

...Required!

For us Ganu football fans, having two football teams competing in the same competition is akin to a parent having two off-springs vying for their support in a quest for success. You are proud with both of them but when asked which one do you love more, no parents would ever pick one over another.

It is the same when both of them failed in their missions, the hurt is still felt as you wish them to be successful in everything they do.

Thus when Terengganu and T-Team failed to win their opening two matches in the 2011 Super League campaign, mad redo1 could feel the hurt inside his heart. However, he would like to look at the positive side of things.

Terengganu were held by Sabah to a goal-less draw in Kuala Terengganu on the opening day of the season while T-Team held Kedah to the same scoreline at the Darul Aman Stadium, Alor Setar.

For the next match against Kelantan, Terengganu were very much the underdog as the home side opened their account with a win over Selangor at Shah Alam to collect all three points and at the same time laid their hands on the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah trophy for the first time.

mad redo1 thought of going to the match but shelved the idea due to unforeseen circumstance.

Everything went according to the script (at least for the Kelantanese) when they scored through their skipper Badri Radzi who opened the scoring midway through the first half. However, they failed to build on that and could not find their way past Sharbinee Allawee again.

Then in the 68th minute the Sultan Mohamad IV Stadium fell silent when Terengganu captain Marzuki Yusof headed home past Khairul Fahmi from a Joseph Kalang cross to level the score. Of course a handful of Terengganu fans who made their way up to Kota Bahru could only celebrate in their heart as loud celebration would only detriment their safety.

In the end both teams deserved the point gained from the match.

T-Team on the other hand could not build their momentum from the draw in Alor Setar as they suffered to a 3-1 defeat at 'home' to Negeri Sembilan. 'Home' for T-Team for this match is Negeri Sembilan's Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi as the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu was still undergoing upgrading works.

Veteran Idris Karim scored a double with Firdaus Azizul notching the other as Negeri Sembilan recorded their second win, maintaining their 100% record in the process. T-Team skipper Rosdi Talib scored his side only goal of the match, the equaliser just before the interval.

The win left Terengganu and T-Team in ninth and thirteenth position respectively of the fourteen teams Super League. However it is still early days and fans will be hoping both teams will improve as the season goes on.

...

The Season...

2011-01-27T13:52:00.002+08:00

...is Nigh

After a flurry of activities in December, this page saw a decrease of entries that could be equalled to the state of hibernation. But with the start of the 2011 Malaysian League season is imminent, mad redo1 should have written something about that to ensure his writing will not go stale.

For the second consecutive season Terengganu will have two representatives in the Super League. Whereas last season was seen as a learning season season for club side PBDKT T-Team (T-Team), this season they seem to be going all out to ensure success will come their way.

T-Team and the state FA side Terengganu made a number of additions to their squad this season but the star attraction of course would be Indra Putra Mahyuddin who together with Nor Farhan Mohamad and Azizi Mat Rose made the trip down from neighbour Kelantan.

The Malaysia Cup winner was none too happy and had reported the trio to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) for a breach of contract. However, the charge was found to be baseless as it was Kelantan who failed to follow the stipulated rules when offering a new contract to players whose current deal is ending.

Apart from the three players, T-Team also welcome Zairo Anuar Zailani who made a short trip from Terengganu. Going the opposite way were striker Abdul Hadi Yahya, midfielders Ismail Faruqi and Mohamad Fakhrurazi plus goalkeeper Mohamad Shahril Sha'ari.

Terengganu also signed up defenders Nik Zul Aziz and Hasmizan Kamarodin, along with free agent Reeshafiq Alwi whose former team KL PLUS pulled out from the Malaysian League altogether; and midfielder Shafuan Adli from Perak.

However the spotlight would be more on T-Team, especially with the star signings who will be joining force with the old faces such as Haris Safwan Kamal, Rosdi Talib, Syamsuri Mustafa, Subri Sulong, Norfazly Alias and others.

Terengganu meanwhile will hope the new signings would strengthen the team and combine well with skipper Marzuki Yusof, Abdul Manaf Mamat, last season Super League topscorer Ashari Shamsuddin, Sharbinee Allawee, Joseph Kalang and other players at Head Coach Irfan Bakti's disposal.

It will be every Terengganu football fans hope to see both teams do well in the Malaysian League scene. It will be unbridled joy for these success starved fans if either one of them is able to land their hands on a trophy this season, if both of them do, the better.

So, to both teams; mad redo1 wishes THE BEST OF LUCK

...

An Old Man...

2011-01-04T06:08:00.002+08:00

...on the Pitch

Having just begun his fortieth year on this earth in November, mad redo1 wonders how much longer he could don the gloves to play the sports he loves most, football. Age has been kind so far that despite the advancing years he still could flung himself here and there trying to prevent some young 'uns from planting the ball past him.

Admittedly he is slower nowadays in reacting to some shots but so far those incidents are not frequent and most of the time his positioning enable him NOT having to get his almost 90kg frame move that much. But in a game of futsal you always have to move a lot more compared wit a game of football.

One thing that could be a factor that he is able to continue playing is the stretching exercise he does to make sure that his body is in 'playable' condition. Thus it is very important for those who keen to continue performing during the advancing years to stretch and warm-up properly even it is just for a kick-about.

So, here to more football in 2011...

NO TURN!
NO CROSS!
NO FOUL!
NO SHOT!
MEN ON!
SHOOT!

...

Glory, Glory...

2010-12-30T04:22:00.019+08:00

...Malayan Tigers!

mad redo1 stepped on the gas as the kick-off time drew nearer. The photo session for the Terengganu 2011 President Cup squad took longer than expected. By the time he set foot at T-Cafe, the place was packed to the brim.

Luckily as he was looking for his GSN mates mad redo1 heard his name being shouted from the middle of the crowd. It was Arif Akar Umbi, a fellow photographer who already reserved a seat (not really sure it was originally for mad redo1 though).

As he sat his bum on the chair and set his view to the large screen it was obvious this is not going to be just an ordinary night of watching football. It was a sea of yellow sprinkled by dots of blue and almost everybody had a Jalur Gemilang in their hands.

With a healthy 3-0 lead from the first leg, Rajagobal's boys could just sit back and invite the Indonesians to come at them. However, unlike the second leg match against Vietnam in the semi-final there was no buses parked in front of the goal, instead on many occasions Malaysia took the match to the home side.

The home side needed a break annd it duly came in the 18th minute when the Australian referee Peter Green awarded what mad redo1 considered a soft penalty when a shot by an Indonesian player hit Sabree Abu's hand inside the box. It was a case of ball going to the hand rather than the opposite.

Perhaps Mr Green lacked the balls to say 'No' as the pressure from the throng of home supporters who were baying for Malaysian blood during the days leading up to the final finally paid dividends.

Indonesian captain Firman Utina stepped up to take the responsibility of giving millions of his countrymen a glimmer of hope that they would be able to overturn the deficit. Unfortunately his execution was poor making it very easy for Khairul Fahmi to save it.

Ashaari Shamsudin who scored the vital second goal in the first leg went close again when he got the better of an Indonesian defender to buy himself a bit of space but Marcus Harison managed to palm it away.

But it was the Terengganu forward's vision nine minutes into the second half that effectively killed the tie. After gaining possession inside his own half, Ashaari spotted striker Safee Sali's run. With a pass that was inch perfect, he released the striker who did not have to break his stride to unleashed a shot that beat Marcus at his near post.

Pandemonium broke loose at T-Cafe as almost everybody there celebrated in a scene that perhaps has not been seen in Terengganu since the 2001 Malaysia Cup final triumph. A four nil lead and an away goal meaning the Indonesians have to repeat their 5-1 opening day victory over the Tigers.

From being a Kilimanjaro suddenly it has changed into an Everest.

The rest of the match was a mere formality despite the equaliser by Mohamad Nasuha after Khairul Fahmi could only parry a stiff shot by Bambang Pamungkas. Malaysians were already in celebratory mood even though Indonesia scored the winner of the match two minutes from time when Malaysia defender Mohamad Muslim Ahmad headed past his own goalkeeper in trying to block Mohamad Ridwan's shot.

Malaysia won the tie on a 4-2 aggregate thus ending a fourteen year wait to get their hands on the trophy.

In a joyous celebration at T-Cafe mad redo1 and other Malaysians cheered the team as they went up the podium to receive their winners' medal. It was a night to remember for many Malaysians and one mad redo1 hopes of repeating over and over again in the future.

Note: All images are taken from the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup website.

...

Tigers...

2010-12-27T13:15:00.169+08:00

...Roar!

Having just woke up from his deep slumber after an eventful journey to Bukit Jalil, mad redo1 still feel the elation of seeing with his own eyes the 3-0 victory Malaysia carved over neighbour Indonesia in the first leg of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Final.

After having to rely on the Indonesians for a place in the semi-finals, Malaysia have gone from strength to strength with a near efficient performance against Vietnam in the first leg before putting on a workmanlike display in Hanoi to qualify to the final with a 2-0 aggregate win to face, ironically the Indonesians.

mad redo1 with his fellow GanuSoccer.Net forum members boarded the bus at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium with other fans who would lend their voices to support The Tigers in their quest for their first senior title since the 1989 SEA Games gold medal. They came close in the inaugural AFF Cup in 1996 but lost to the Thais in the final in Singapore.

The journey was uneventful for most part except during a stretch on the East Coast Highway when the bus started to sway left and right in an extra-ordinary way when passing a boxed lorry. The swaying was strong enough to wake mad redo1 from his sleep and immediately his mind flashed all recent tragedies involving buses.

Fortunately it stopped a while later. When the bus made a pit stop at the Temerloh Rest Area mad redo1 found that he was not alone feeling the sway. However no reason was given why it happened as the driver was tight lipped about the incident.

The party decided to head to Putrajaya rather than spend their time in the city centre. After refreshing ourselves at the Putra Mosque and filling our tummy at a hawker centre in the 8th Precinct, we headed to the Alamanda Putrajaya to spend our time before heading to the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil.

There many members opted to bowl some pins after the initial plan of watching a movie at the Golden Screen Cinema had to be shelved due to time constraint. However mad redo1 prefer to rest his eyes with a few winks at the table and despite the noise he managed to get his much needed shuteye.

Lunch was a wok's affair at the food court before proceeding to the new Masjid Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin or more famously known as the Steel Mosque to freshen up and pray. Then it was straight to Bukit Jalil, and despite being a short distance only from Putrajaya, the road leading there had begun to jam with vehicles going to the same destination.

We embarked at a nearby spot and marched to the stadium when the Indonesians have begun marching to their gates while hoisting a giant Indonesian flag on top of their heads. mad redo1 did not think it is possible to do the same thing in Jakarta.

While waiting for another member who would bring the tickets we converged at a spot and there both set of fans mingled cheerfully with clearly no tension in the air, again something mad redo1 think is not possible in Jakarta.

It was quite sometime before the match was scheduled to begin but the fans already begun to sing and cheering led by the 'Ultras' who now have brought supporting the national team a new level which never seen before in Malaysia.

When the match started mad redo1 was seated at the lower tier near to the corner flag. It was a good location but an uncivilised Malaysian spoiled the viewing of many by sitting on the wall. Perhaps it was a reflection of the match in the first half which left mad redo1 a bit disappointed.

During the interval mad redo1 tried to join his GSN mates at the middle tier but found his route was blocked by a sea of bodies. Through these bodies he tried to watch the match and then he caught the sight of Norshahrul Idlan getting the better of the Indonesian left-back before delivering the ball to the middle where Safee Sali applied the finishing touch.

Cue pandemonium at Bukit Jalil as Malaysians there and throughout the country celebrated the first strike. While celebrating this goal mad redo1 took the opportunity to wade through and found himself a good spot to watch the next goal which was scored by Terengganu very own Ashaari Shamsudin after the initial shot by Norshahrul was deflected into his path by an Indonesian defender.

It was like being in a dream and when Safee's powerful header hit the back of the net for the third goal mad redo1 wished the dream would go on and on and on. He wished for another goal but in the end 3-0 was as good as it got and for many Malaysians it is certainly the best way to get over the 5-1 humiliation suffered in the opening match.

Despite a bit of stress on the way home, the journey was full with joy and the three goals scored and the clean sheet by the defence put many Malaysians in a confident mood for the return leg at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium on Wednesday.

All around cheers for you Malayan Tigers!

Thank you to those who snapped mad redo1's mug during this joyful journey

...

Bukit Jalil...

2010-12-25T20:19:00.000+08:00

...Here we Come!

The title has been reserved for quite a long while for the mad redo1's trip to the National Stadium to watch his beloved Terengganu playing in a cup final. Unfortunately it has been 'so near, yet so far' cases with the Turtles over the last few seasons. The last time was way back in 2004 for the FA Cup final when Terengganu lost to Perak in extra-time.

Since then his hopes to support his local team there has been dashed every season.

This time he is not going to wait anymore and if everything goes according to plan he will be among thousands of fans at Bukit Jalil tomorrow night but this time he would not be supporting his heroes in white and black.

Instead mad redo1 will lend his voice to the cause of the Tigers who are facing the Indonesians in their quest for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup trophy. Instead of the usual white and black it will be yellow and black this time around despite Malaysia have opted to play in the blue strip.

It will be a magnificent turnaround if we manage to land our first regional trophy at senior level since the SEA Games triumph in 1989 come 29 December. Having lost 5-1 against the same opposition in the opening match at the intimidating Gelora Bung Karno Stadium we will start as the underdogs for tomorrow clash.

What Malaysians are expecting of the players donning the national colours tomorrow is to give their all to the cause that will definitely lift the spirits of the whole nation and give Malaysian football further boost in their attempt to climb up the FIFA World Ranking.

It is vital to keep a clean sheet again tomorrow as we did against Vietnam in the last four. It is much better that we eliminated the defending champions rather than facing the supposedly minnow Phillippines which the Indonesians could only score once in each of their semi-final encounter.

From his point of view, mad redo1 feels coach Rajagobal will deploy a counter-attacking strategy which worked well against the Indonesians when we managed to take the lead before defensive frailties unraveled all the good work. We definitely will not be seeing buses again in front of the goal as goals are needed to ensure a good chance when the team travel to Jakarta.

Hopefully our forwards will be at their sharpest to make the most of the opportunities that will come their way, which should be rare given the defensive record of the Indonesians during the tournament. At the same time every player must maintain their discipline in order to keep the Indonesians at bay.

It will be the first time mad redo1 taking a bus trip with fellow fans and it is his first time too supporting Malaysia at close quarters as all this while it has been supporting from afar, perhaps more due to distance rather than non-patriotic feeling because mad redo1 is as patriotic as any Malaysian out there.

COME ON TIGERS!

...

Living...

2010-12-19T14:39:00.001+08:00

...with Limitations

Malaysia qualified for the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup final after holding defending champions Vietnam to a scoreless draw at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, our first final since 1996. mad redo1 sat his bums again at T-Cafe with his GanuSoccer.Net GSN mates to watch the match.

Photo was taken from www.affsuzukicup.com

As the match went on it was obvious that Malaysia Coach Rajagopal Krishnasamy had planned to park buses in front of his team's goal with the intention to defend the two goal lead from the first leg at all cost. In front of Muslim Ahmad and his line of defenders was another layer comprised of midfielders Amar Rohidan and Mohamad Safiq Rahim with flankers Kunanlan Subramaniam and Amirul Hadi Zainal deployed more as defenders rather than as attackers.

The approach drew much criticisms from many Malaysia supporters at the cafe. For every clearance made by Malaysian players it would be accompanied by howl of disappointment at seeing the ball coming back as Vietnam continued attacking relentlessly.

Photo was taken from www.affsuzukicup.com

Perhaps Rajagopal believed that his options were limited thus decided to deploy a tactic usually seen in the English Premier League when teams such as Wigan Athletics or Sunderland paying a visit to Arsenal or Manchester United.

It was a rather dangerous tactic which could go either way but fortunately for the Malaysians the home side failed to make the most of the ball which seemed to be glued to their feet throughout the match. Even when they managed to beat a Malaysian player there would be another covering behind him thus limiting them to taking shots from afar or trying to win free-kicks by simulating fouls.

The tactic backfired for Vietnam when Pham Thanh Luong was booked for simulating a foul as he ran into the box and with Kunanlan was about to tackle him. However the Malaysian player held his foot back but at the time Thanh Luong was already on his way down.

The incident unfolded right in front of referee Kim Sang-woo who had no hesitation in flashing the yellow card to the culprit. It was his second of the night thus resulting in a teary walk back to the dressing room.

Khairul Fahmi was not really tested with no significant save required from the Kelantan custodian as Vietnam failed to hit the target with most of their shots. The ones that were on target did not really trouble the goalkeeper.

Malaysia had their chances with Shahrul Idlan Talaha going close with a long range shot in the first half but it curled on the wrong side of the post. The introduction of 2010 Super League Topscorer, Ashaari Shamsudin injected more zest into the attack and was unlucky not to silence the home crowd when his low shot just crept outside the near post after cutting inside from the flanks.

There were chances too for skipper Mohamad Safiq Rahim, Amri Yahyah and two goal hero from the first leg Safee Sali but these Selangor players just could not convert the openings that came their way. For many Malaysian approach was a bit Machavellian but the same set of fans seemed to feel the joy at seeing the nation qualify for their first senior final since 1996.

Now, it will be either the Indonesians or the Pinoys on Boxing Day at Bukit Jalil. Will mad redo1 be there to support the Tigers? Watch this space.

...

A Nation's...

2010-12-16T13:24:00.000+08:00

...Joy

After ninety plus minutes of sitting his bums at T-Cafe near the Giant Hypermarket mad redo1 finally went home a happy Malaysian. The reason? Malaysia just defeated defending champions Vietnam 2-0 in the first leg of the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup Championship semi-finals.

Photo taken from www.affsuzukicup.com

Two goals from Safee Salee in the second half ensured a comfortable lead for the second leg clash in Hanoi on Saturday. The most important outcome from the match was the clean sheet kept by the Malaysian defence, led by Mohamad Muslim Ahmad which managed to keep the visitors attack at bay and made the goalkeeper's job a lot easier.

K Rajagobal's men should expect a hostile and intimidating environment when they line-up at the My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi for the second leg. However, if they just ignore the environment and resist any provocation to throw off their game by the Vietnamese then they just need to play for a scoreless draw but that does not mean we have to adopt a defensive strategy.

One of the key objectives for the second leg is not to concede an early goal as this will motivate the home side to attack more and at the same time will plant seeds of doubts in the mind of Malaysian players. The longer the match go without a goal it will put more pressure on the home team and the crowd will get on their back, which will do us a huge favour.

Fortunately last night Vietnam goalkeeper Bui Tan Truong was in a generous mood by letting Safee's bullet header slip through his grasp in the 61st minute thus giving the home side the breakthrough. The Malaysians did not look back and went further ahead nine minutes from time when Safee pounced on a loose ball after Tan Truong could only parry a shot from Mohamad Safiq Rahim.

For many Malaysians it is certainly a victory to savour and certainly a lift for Malaysian football, especially after the opening day defeat to Indonesia. If Malaysia manage to get a positive result in Hanoi then a repeat of the meeting with the Indonesians will be on the cards as they are expected to get past the Phillippines in the second semi-final.

If Malaysia qualify for the final, the question where mad redo1 will seat his bums will be determined just before Christmas.

Come on Tigers!

...

A Nation's...

2010-12-15T11:24:00.001+08:00

...Hope

After a bad start to their AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 campaign, many Malaysians felt that it is going to be the same old story for the Malaysian national team, albeit with a new man at the helm. However, coach K Rajagobal rallied his men and after holding the much fancied Thailand to a scoreless draw they thrashed Laos 5-1 to sneaked into the last four after the result of the match between host Indonesia and the Thais went our way.

Thus tonight Malaysia will face defending champions Vietnam at the Nasional Stadium in the first leg of their semi-final clash with the second leg scheduled to take place on Saturday in Hanoi on Saturday.

Going into the match Malaysia players should not put themselves under too much pressure as the Vietnamese are the favourites, being the defending champions of the competition.

Rajagobal's men have gone from strength to strength in the competition and for many Malaysians who will fill the Nasional Stadium's seats a fighting display by the players will win their hearts regardless of the result.

Recent results against the Vietnamese have not been encouraging but all those are in the past and tonight it is going to be a new ballgame altogether. Thus the confidence that the squad has right now should be used o the fullest and with the backing of a good crowd at the Nasional Stadium, Malaysia should get a good result for their second leg encounter on Saturday.

As a Ganuan, mad redo1 would like to see Sharbinee Allawee back between the posts for Malaysia as his performance against Indonesia was top class despite conceding five goals. Rajagobal should have stood by the custodian instead of giving the spot to Khairul Fahmi whose performance against Thailand and Laos were decent but nothing much to shout about.

But irrespective of which player going to start against Vietnam tonight the support of mad redo1 and almost all Malaysians will be with the Tigers in the first quest to be in the final for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1996 in Singapore when they lost to Thailand.

Good luck Tigers!

...

Champions...

2010-12-05T23:34:00.001+08:00

...Ainslie!

British Triple Olympic gold medalist Ben Ainslie and his TeamOrigin team-mates completed a remarkable 'double' by winning the 2010 Monsoon Cup ahead of Aussie Torvar Mirsky of Mirsky Racing Team in a close final.

The 3-2 win enabled Ainslie to add the closing regatta tournament trophy to the World Match Racing Tour honours that he won at midday after closest challenger Mathieu Richard of the French Match Racing Team failed to finish in the top five and with the Brit qualifying for the final.

The day before, in the absence of defending champions Adam Minoprio of ETNZ/Blackmatch Racing Team who failed to qualify for the last eight, Ainslie had chosen to race against Richard in the make or break quarter-final race. The strategy paid off as he defeated the Frenchman 3-1.

It was the last Match Racing campaign for Ainslie and his TeamOrigin crew, at least for now as they will set their sights to the 2012 Olympics events which will take place in their own backyards.

...

School...

2010-12-04T23:27:00.052+08:00

...Rules!

Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar (SSBP) emerged as Champions of the National U-16 Women Hockey Tournament 2010 after defeating Kuala Lumpur in the final at the MBKT Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.

After a goalless first half SSBP struck twice in quick succession through Norshahida Sakira Kirman and Liyana Aqilah Mohamad Sepawi towards the end of the match against the City Girls to record a 2-0 win. This left them together with host Terengganu as the only unbeaten teams in the tournament.

Earlier The Girl Turtles defeated Melaka 4-2 to clinch third place. The win showed the mental strength of the players after suffering a heartbreaking penalty-stroke defeat to Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening.

The individual awards were evenly spread with the tournament Top-scorer was won by SSBP's Hanis Nadiah Onn while the award for the Best Goalkeeper was won by Terengganu Noor Rul Azwani Zuraiden. Kuala Lumpur Surizan Awang Noh was named as the Player of the Tournament award.

...

Heartbreaks...

2010-12-03T23:28:00.001+08:00

...for Lady Turtles

It was heartbreak hotel for the Terengganu girls this evening when they lost to Kuala Lumpur in the semi-final of the National U-16 Women Hockey Tournament 2010 at the MBKT Hockey Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. Both teams failed to find the net during regulation time and the extra-time also failed to break the stalemate.

In the end the match had to be settled through the lottery of penalty strokes. In the failing light due to the stadium's non-functional floodlights, the City Girls held their nerve to edge the host 3-2. Kuala Lumpur went through to meet the winner of the first semi-final between Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar (SSBP) and Melaka.

The sports school did not have much difficulties in disposing the Group A champions with a one sided score of 4-1. Melaka now will play Terengganu tomorrow morning to determine third and fourth place while the final between SSBP and Kuala Lumpur will take place in the afternoon.

...

Tigers...

2010-12-02T08:06:00.000+08:00

...Mauled!

It was not the scoreline every Malaysian would have imagine prior to the AFF Suzuki Cup 2010 clash between bitter rivals Indonesia and Malaysia. Many would feel it is a hard task to defeat the Indonesians especially in front of their partisan home crowd thus a draw or a low scoring defeat would be acceptable.

Unfortunately the worst thing could happen, happened. At the end of the ninety minutes played the scoreline read; INDONESIA 5 MALAYSIA 1.

It was certainly a victory every Indonesian dreamed about and for every Malaysian, their worst nightmare.

However, both coaches agreed the scoreline did not reflect the quality of the match with Malaysia certainly made life tough for the home side. Perhaps the actual difference between the teams was there were too many mistakes committed by the Malaysians.

Malaysia took the lead in the 19th minute when a long ball out of defence found its way to Mohamad Safee Sali who took on two defenders before laying it to Shahrul Idlan Talaha. The striker lifted the ball before unleashing a volley which was powerful enough to beat the Indonesian goalkeeper. A well taken goal.

The equaliser for the home side was stated as an own goal by defender Mohamad Asrarudin but the cross from the right should not have been allowed in the first place. Then another Malaysian player committed the cardinal sin in football when he was caught in possession around the penalty area.

When the ball found its way to Uruguayan born Christian Gonzales, it was a matter of picking out his spot to beat Sharbinee Allawee in the Malaysian goal. The Terengganu goalkeeper performed heroically throughout the match, preventing a number of chances from being turned into goals by the Indonesian forward.

However, he was helpless when his defender went asleep again when Indonesia substitute Muhamad Ridwan tried to play a one-two at the edge of the Malaysian penalty box. Defender Mohamad Fadli Shas tried to block the ball but the it fell into the path of Ridwan who continued his run with no Malaysian player alert enough to stick with him which made his task in beating Sharbinee a lot easier.

If the equaliser could be deemed as an unfortunate incident for Asrarudin, conceding the fourth goal was of his own making. A high ball which should have been bread and butter for the defender was mis-controlled by Asrarudin. The loose ball was pounced by Arif Suyono who had the strength to shrug off the challenges by the Malaysian defence before slotting the ball past Sharbinee, who was clearly disappointed with his defence.

Then deep into stoppage time when many Malaysians were thinking nothing worse could happen, the Indonesian broke through again. Again it was on the right and the cross by Oktovianus Maniani was turned in by Irfan Bachdim to give the scoreline a huge gloss for his side while a gloom outlook for the Malaysians who now will take on perennial favourite Thailand in their next match which could determine who will be in the last four of the competition.

It was certainly not a night to remember for Malaysians but it is certainly not the end of the fight either.

C'MON TIGERS!

...

March On...

2010-11-30T23:33:00.004+08:00

...Girls!

Melaka continued their march into the last four of the National U-16 Women Hockey Tournament 2010 after a clinical 2-0 win over rivals Kuala Lumpur at the Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu Hoockey Stadium this morning. The win put them on top of the Group A table, level on points with Kuala Lumpur but having a superior goal difference than the City Girls.

Pulau Pinang played twice in a day due to some technical problems in their travel to the East Coast but at the end of the day put themselves in third place with an outside chance to qualify to the last four even though it will be a difficult task as their last match will be against the free scoring Melaka side.

Both Melaka and Kuala Lumpur could confirm their places in the last four tomorrow when they take on Johor and Negeri Sembilan respectively. The same outcome would be on the cards tomorrow in Group B after both Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar (SSBP) and host Terengganu registered their third consecutive win today.

Both teams only managed to score single goal victory over their opponents but they were enough to put them on top of the Group B standings. SSBP overcame a gritty Selangor side with Nurul Nadiah scoring through a field goal four minutes before the interval.

Meanwhile Terengganu found it hard to breach a resolute Kedah defence and had to wait until the 54th minute before Nurul Idayu getting the all important strike in a well worked out field goal.

Terengganu will take on Kelantan in an East Coast derby while another East Coast side Pahang will provide the opponent for SSBP.

...

Girls'...

2010-11-29T23:32:00.017+08:00

...Power

Host Terengganu and Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar continued their winning form to lead the rest in Group B after registering their second win of the National U-16 Women Hockey Tournament 2010.

Kelantan were at the end of another hammering, going down 6-0 to the sports school outfit while Terengganu were forced to work hard by Selangor before winning their encounter by the match solitary goal.

Pahang and Kedah played out to a 2-2 draw in another Group B match. Melaka opened their campaign by recording a 7-0 victory over their northern neighbour Negeri Sembilan. Kuala Lumpur meanwhile continued their winning ways by defeating Pulau Pinang 3-0 to top Group A with maximum points from two matches.

More photos HERE.

...

Sticking...

2010-11-28T23:23:00.028+08:00

...Around

The 2010 National U-16 Women Hockey Tournament is being held in Kuala Terengganu from 28 November 2010 until 4 December 2010. Matches are played at two venues; the Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu Hockey Stadium in Batu Buruk and the Gong Badak Sports Complex. However, most matches are held at the former due to its better facilities.

Eleven teams take part in the event and are divided into two groups. Group A consists of Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Pulau Pinang while Kedah, Sekolah Sukan Bandar Penawar(SSBP), Selangor, Kelantan, Pahang and host Terengganu are in Group B.

On the opening day Kuala Lumpur defeated Johor 2-1 in the sole Group A match while SSBP opened their campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Kedah. In the afternoon session Selangor repeated the 5-0 scoreline when they overcame Kelantan while host Terengganu had to stage a second half comeback after Pahang led them 1-0 at the interval. The Young Lady Turtles scored thrice to make the final score 3-1 in their favour.

For more photos, please go HERE

...

Horsing...

2010-11-05T05:54:00.001+08:00

...Around.

After the excitement in the water during the Heritage Bay Cup, Monsoon Cup 2010 Edition with Team AG:eing, mad redo1 will take his interest a bit inland with the Sultan's Cup Terengganu Endurance Challenge 2010 at The Terengganu International Equestrian Park in Lembah Bidong, Setiu, Terengganu.

The following information are taken from www.Equestrian.com.my:

The Sultan’s Cup 2010 is an CEI 2* endurance race run over 120km of undulating terrain with a time limit of 12 hours including holding time totalling 210 minutes at the first four vet gates. The race consists of five phases. The first phase is 30km, second phase is 25km, third phase is 20km, fourth is 25km and the fifth and final phase is 20km.

At the vet gates, horses’ heart rates will be checked and must be 64 beat per minute (bpm) within 20 minutes and at the final exam, the heart rate must be 64 bpm within 30 minutes. If the stipulated heart rates are not achieved the horse will be disqualified. The minimum weight for riders is 75 kg.

Seri Paduka Baginda Raja Permaisuri Agong Tuanku Nur Zahirah will flag-off of the 2010 Sultan’s Cup at the Terengganu International Endurance Park (TIEP) at 5.00pm on Saturday, 6 November.

mad redo1 intends to be there during the flag-off to capture a few shots of this prestigious tournament. With Linda is away again, it is up to him to keep the AKSes occupied during the weekend.

Of course prior to the flag-off the organizers already lined up a number of programme aimed at the general public who will come to the event, mad redo1 and the AKSes included.

...

Champions Terengganu...

2010-11-01T15:52:00.001+08:00

...in Squash That Is.

After failing to land any titles in the football scene, mad redo1 as a Ganuan is proud when the Terengganu Squash team managed to bring home the men’s 2010 National Inter-state Team Championship after a 3-0 victory over Penang.

He is never a good squash player to the extend that he even managed to lose to an ex-girlfriend during his college days.

Nevertheless the development programme carried out by the State Sports Council is now bearing fruits with a number of Ganu players already making waves on the national circuit and one of them, Nafizwan Adnan is currently no.3 in the Malaysian team.

Congratulations guys!

...

Ocean...

2010-10-31T05:03:00.003+08:00

...Deep!

Well, not really.

The estuary of the Terengganu River is not that deep, even to the extend that a F36 Monsoon Cup yacht could run aground if it sails too near to the shore. How does mad redo1 know all this?

He just competed in the Heritage Bay Cup, The Monsoon Cup 2010 Edition with his Team AG:eing.

mad redo1 is not a sailor and he never intend to become one during his childhood years. But since the annual Monsoon Cup tour came to town in 2005 it has been his ambition to get himself onto the boat.

Last year was the closest when someone offered him the chance to ride with the competitors during the race but due to his 'busy' schedule, he only got to shoot pictures of the race from the balcony of the Marina building.

Then when mad redo1 received this call, he did not have to think twice and within a day a crew of seven was assembled. Taking into consideration the average age of the crews (39.3 years old) thus the name Team AG:eing was adopted.

A set of sailing attire was ordered and printed with the name of the team and the crew, at a very low cost, thanks to the sponsorship by the print-shop owner himself who then delivered the shirts on the very next day after confirming the order.

Anybody wishing to get a good deal on uniforms/shirts or other items can get in touch with ABB Jaya Enterprise via e-mail: abbjaya_05@yahoo.com or contact the manager: Encik Anuar at 013-927-1418. The business already has a good reputation in kT.

On Friday, the crew assembled at The Ri-Yaz Heritage Marina and after a briefing by Mr David Mills, the Programme Facilitator, Team AG:eing took to the water on a F36 boat under the tutelage of Miss Ai-Li and Miss Anushka. Of course it was just a short with just over an hour for these ageing brains to absorb all the information needed in order to compete later in the afternoon.

Then it was time for Friday Prayers.

The race time could not come soon enough for the crew. Despite having a few butterflies in the stomach everybody was in an upbeat mood. After Mr Mills had given the racing brief, everybody headed out to the marina and this time everyone seemed to know their job.

Linda a.k.a. Mrs Birch had taken the role of the skipper while mad redo1 a.k.a. The Birch would be the Bowman. These roles put both of them at different ends of the boat. Nizam or more more affectionately known as Kulat had volunteered for the role of the Mast-man while the rest of the crew namely Abu, Hilmi a.k.a. Mat Ming, Enal and Eskay became trimmers and grinders for port and starboard sides respectively.

The weather was similar to the monsoon which made us more excited with the challenge.

Race One was done on a Windward Leeward Course and after a few tacking and jiving we surprised ourselves by coming in at third place. Not bad, not bad at all for a crew of beginners.

Unfortunately for Race Two which was done on a Trapezoid Course, our advisor 'seemed' to be misjudging the distance in getting to the starting line in time for the start of the race. As a result we were already 15 seconds behind the rest of the pack. It was not a recoverable distance and Team AG:eing finished last.

For Race Three which returned to the Windward Leeward Course we timed our start almost perfectly and despite going in different direction from the rest of the pack it seemed that we were still in a good position to at least finish at least among the top four of this race.

Unfortunately several 'questionable advices' threw us off the pace and after hitting a buoy which induced a penalty, Team AG:eing really looked the age as we finished last again. Thus the two last finishes put paid to our hopes of not finishing last of the pack.

The sailing bugs certainly have bitten us hard and we are certainly looking forward to competing again in the next edition of the Heritage Bay Cup.

Watch out world, Team AG:eing is coming at you again!

By the way the Heritage Bay Cup was won by the Ri-Yaz Sailing Team.

...

Worthwhile Trip...

2010-10-17T19:34:00.136+08:00

...Football Wise it is Not.

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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