Good Bye Suzuki Cup

It is the end of the road for the Malayan Tigers tonight in Bangkok after their 2-0 defeat against the Thais saw them lost the tie 3-1 on aggregate.

Fingers will be pointing at the Korean referee, Lee Min Hu's poor performance as the reason why the Malaysians lost their regional title. However, I would like to differ from the majority and blame it on the Malaysian Head Coach, Rajagopal.

With just a few weeks going into the competition he was still experimenting with his line-ups. The results of the friendlies that his team played during that period were far from encouraging. Defeats in Vietnam and Thailand were tolerable but being held by the Bangladeshis certainly pushing the fans patience to the brink.

Then came the 3-0 demolition by southern rivals Singapore in the first match.

The Malaysian line-up for the match was the one expected to be littered with players known to Rajagobal. The feeling was it is a catastrophe waiting to happen. By the end of the ninety minutes every Malaysian knew it was one.

Rajagobal knew he had to change for the next two matches to ensure qualification from the group. He did change, with four players making their first start for the tournament. It brought the required result, a 4-1 win over Laos even though the result looked beyond their reach with 23 minutes remaining.

Then came the crunch match against Indonesia and Malaysia performed almost flawlessly to win 2-0 and booked their place in the last four. Suddenly we were playing like champions and looked good to defend the cup.

Rajagobal then sprung a surprise to the nation with a 4-5-1 formation at home against Thailand for the first leg. Back to the fold was his prized player, Amar Rohidan. In the end it was a 1-1 stalemate and an away goal conceded though nobody in their right mind would blame Farizal Marlias for the Thais' equalizer.

A more positive and bold approach to the match could have brought a healthy lead for the second leg in Bangkok. Unfortunately, Rajagobal looked timid in his approach and with the Thais only needing a goalless draw to qualify, it was a mountain to climb for the holders.

Somehow, it was kind of expected that Amar Rohidan would be in the line-up thus giving me the feeling that it is "good-bye" Suzuki Cup.

In reality, the host did not have to do a lot as Malaysia did not offer much in attack. The poor decision by the referee in flashing the second yellow card to Fadli Shas certainly made the Malaysians' job even harder.

Thailand made sure that The Tigers went home with their tails between their legs when Teerasil Dangda capitalised on the mistake by Amar (ironic) to race through on goal before calmly slotting the ball past Farizal on the hour mark.

Five minutes later, it was all over for The Tigers when Farizal could not hold on to the stinging free-kick by Jakkapan Pornsai and Theerathon Bunmathan was the first to arrive to the ball to tuck it in into the goal.

Rajagopal blamed the exit on the dismissal of Fadli Shas by the referee but in reality he should be blaming himself for not being brave enough to take the fight to the Thais in the first place.


...

Good Start...

...for the Lads


The 2012 President Cup tournament began today with Terengganu beating Pulau Pinang 2-0 in their opening match held at the State Sports Complex in Gong Badak. In Kedah, PBDKT T-Team defeated the home side 1-0 in their encounter.


...

The Draw...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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...

...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.


...

Pipped to Second...

...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.

...