Perak to continue battle without suspended players

Perak will soldier on without five key players for the rest of the Malaysia Cup campaign after the FA of Malaysia disciplinary committee re-imposed a seven-match suspension on Wednesday.

The players, including captain Shahrulnizam Mustapha, striker Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli and goalkeeper Nasril Nordin, were given a temporary reprieve to play in the 0-0 Group A draw against Sabah at Likas on Tuesday pending an appeal against the original ruling on July 6.

The punishment was meted out in response to charges of aggression and using obscene language against the referee in a Super League match against Sabah at the Lumut Stadium on May 19 after the visitors scored a late equaliser.

Perak had appealed against the suspension but having failed in getting the punishment reduced, the five players -- the other two being Syazwan Roslan and Ameer Yusof -- will only see action in the Malaysia Cup if Perak reach the semi-finals.
 

Perak team manager Khairul Azuan Harun said they will make do with the players they have at the moment beginning with today's clash with Johor in Ipoh.

"We have promoted five young players to the squad and we hope that coach Norizan (Bakar) will be able to use these young talent to obtain the results. We had hoped to get the suspensions reduced but since we were not able to, we will just have to get on with it.

"We are prepared to proceed with the players we have and hopefully we can reach the semi-finals so that the suspended players can return to the team," said Khairul Azuan yesterday.

To cope with the absence of the five players, Perak brought in defender Hafiszuan Salehuddin (Perlis), striker Failee Ghazli (USM) and midfielder Rafiuddin Roddin (Young Tigers A) on loan.

Perak need a win against Johor, who were beaten 2-0 by Kedah in their opening match, after struggling to break Sabah down in Kota Kinabalu.