East coast giants Kelantan and Terengganu are both rubbing their hands with glee after receiving a favourable draw in the 16-team Malaysia Cup competition this year.
And there is even a possibility that fans may see another mouth-watering east coast final, just months after Terengganu defeated Kelantan in the FA Cup final.
Kelantan look set to cruise into the quarter-finals after being drawn against Johor FC, Felda United and Sarawak in Group C while neighbours Terengganu have Negri Sembilan and club sides PKNS FC and Sime Darby FC for company in Group B.
Kelantan coach Datuk M. Karathu’s men have been on a roll after their splendid run this season.
They have bagged the Charity Shield and the Super League title after last year’s historic win in the Malaysia Cup under former coach B. Sathianathan.
“The Malaysia Cup will be a different ball game and it seems that we will have to travel quite a lot in the group stage.
“All the teams will start afresh after the fasting month. We have played the other two teams but not Sarawak and I expect a tough challenge from the newly-promoted East Malaysian side too,” Karathu said after witnessing the draw at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Selangor, who boast a rich footballing tradition, having won the Malaysia Cup a record 32 times, face a tricky task after being drawn in Group D with tough customers T-Team of Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur and Police.
The Red Giants are going through a bad patch this season and coach K. Devan badly wants to lift the Malaysia Cup, which they last won in 2005.
Devan had brought instant success to the Red Giants when he took over as coach in 2009. He led them to the FA Cup and the Super League titles in his debut season. Last year they retained the Super League title.
This year, however, he has yet to work his magic on Selangor.
Kedah, back-to-back Malaysia Cup winners in 2007 and 2008, can count themselves unlucky after being drawn in the Group of Death.
Coach Wan Jamak Wan Hassan’s Canaries have been grouped with Perak, Sabah and Johor in Group A.
The 83rd edition of the coveted Malaysia Cup competition will kick off on Sept 6.
The quarter-finals are slated for Oct 14.
No comments:
Post a Comment