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.




...

Canaries Pecked Turtles...

...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.

...

Army Defeated...

...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.

...

Worthwhile Trip...

...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.

...