Teamwork key to Perak's good form so far

When the Malaysia Cup kicked off on Sept 4, Perak were in dire straits as they had five first choice players suspended for seven matches each.

The five – Akmal Rizal Rakhli, third choice national goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin, Syazwan Roslan, Azmeer Yusoff and skipper Shahrulnizam Mustapha – were also fined RM4,000 each for allegedly attacking referee Mohd Sabri Mat Lazim during a Super League match against Sabah at the TLDM Stadium in Lumut on May 19.

But now, after the end of the first round of preliminary stage, Perak are sitting pretty in second spot in Group A, with seven points from three matches – the same as leaders Sabah, who have the same number of points but a better goal difference.

Coach Norizan Bakar has attributed their good run of results on teamwork and hard work,
“Team work, sheer commitment and the desire to make Perak proud – these are the factors that have driven us to produce the results so far,” he said when contacted in Ipoh yesterday.

“My players deserve all the plaudits because it was really a team effort which has gotten us to the present position.

“Anyway, it is still too early to be talking about the knockout stage.

Unless we continue to stay focused on the job at hand in the remaining three matches, what we have achieved so far would be meaningless.”

The former national coach was also quick to warn his players not to get carried away by their two straight wins – beating Johor and Kedah by a similar 2-1 scoreline.

He reminded the players that they still had a mountain to climb when the second round action in Group A kicks off on Saturday.

That’s when they will entertain group leaders Sabah at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh.

The two teams drew 0-0 in the first round.

“I hope my players will continue to stay focused in our three remaining group ties,” he said.