MOE League Cup : Defending champions beaten

A BRACE from striker Solahudin Mahmud gave SMK Bukit Nenas of Terengganu a well deserved 2-0 win over defending champions SMK Tunku Anum of Kedah in the Under-14 Minister of Education League Cup (MELC) first leg semi-finals last Saturday.

In the match that was played in Alor Star, the home team started brightly but it was Solahudin who gave the lead to the east coast team with a close range effort in the 11th minute.

And with just four minutes left of the first half, Solahudin was again on target to give SMK Bukit Nenas a psychological advantage for the return tie in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday.

"We played very well and we are really proud of the boys," said Zainuddin Mohd Zain, the chief coach of SMK Bukit Nenas.

"We have taken a big step for a place in the final this year, so we just have to make sure that we play as well in the return tie.

"We lost to Kedah in the final last year, so we have a good chance of returning that favour this time round."

Incidentally, SMK Tunku Anum had also lost the Charity Shield to SMK Bukit Nenas at the start of the 2011 season.

Kedah were not at all disappointed with the defeat at home as they were confident that they would overcome the deficit in the return tie.

"We are believers in the adage that 'in football anything can happen'. Both teams are equal in terms of strength and I believe that we have a decent shot for the return tie," said Basirul Abu Bakar, the coach of SMK Tunku Anum.

"Our defence was a little off and we only have ourselves to blame for the loss. But we told the players that they must learn from this defeat.

"In Terengganu, we will be attacking all the way. We must win to qualify for the final and defend the crown we won last year."

In the other semi-final, SMK Seberang Temerloh of Pahang carved out a 1-0 advantage at home over SMK Seri Kota of Malacca.

The only goal of the game came off Mohamad Abdullah in the 33rd minute of play.

In the first leg semi-finals of the Under-17 Ministry of Education Youth League, SMK Tunku Anum of Kedah were denied a win at home when they were held 1-1 by SMK Seberang Temerloh of Pahang.

In the other semi-final, SMK Syed Hassan of Perlis failed to take advantage of playing at home when they went down 2-0 to SMK Mutiara Impian of Penang.