Malacca stadium get approval to have night matches

Night football matches could be held at the Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka after it meets the minimum lighting standard set by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

This makes the stadium the last to meet the condition so that all Super League matches could be held at night in the 2012 Malaysia League competition which was entering its third week.

According to a statement by FAM, the flood lights at the stadium were tested on Jan 22 and were found to have exceeded the minimum lighting level of 800 lux as stipulated for night matches by FAM.

The Hang Jebat Stadium was also temporarily host to two Super League teams this season, Kuala Lumpur and Felda United as their home ground Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium was under repair.

Felda United will kick off the first match at night at the stadium against Perak from 8.45pm this Saturday (Jan 28).

Pahang beat Malacca to win King's Gold Cup

Pahang have emerged as the champion of Piala Emas Raja-Raja (King's Gold Cup) by defeating Melaka 3-1 in the final at the Temerloh Municipal Mini Stadium Sunday night.

Cheered by more than 5,000 supporters of the home team, Pahang repeated its 1980 success when the state beat Perak 4-2 in the same championship.

However, it was Melaka who broke the ice in the 27th minute with Zailan Mohammad finding the net from a shot just outside of the penalty box but Pahang equalised from a free kick by Mohd Hafiz Kamal in the 35th minute.

In the second half, Mohd Fauzi Rozlan of Pahang made a fine run from mid field to push the ball into Melaka's goal to lead with 2-1 in the 76th minute.

Two minutes later an Abd Malik Mat Ariff's header from a free kick by Mohd Hafiz Kamal found the net again for Pahang's third goal.

At the final whistle, the score remained with Pahang beating Melaka 3-1.

The cup was presented by Tengku Mahkota Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah who is also the Deputy President of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).

Kedah-Malacca and Pahang-Perlis to face in semi finals of Sultan Gold Cup

Last year's losing finalist,  Kedah, assisted by six Super League players, are confident of making up for last year's disappointment by winning the Sultan's Gold Cup this year.

Kedah who lost to Kelantan in a penalty shootout last year, moved into the semifinals of the Sultan's Gold Cup and will face Melaka at the Darul Aman Stadium on Saturday.

The six Super League players in the side are Mohd Faizal Abu Bakar, Mohd Fazliata Taib, Hattaphon Bun An, Wan Mohd Asraf Wan Ali, Mohd Sany Mat Isa and Mohd Muhaimin Mohamad.

Kedah coach Mohamad Ramlee said the presence of the six players in a team made up of mostly President's Cup players, would help strengthen the side to go all the way to the final.

"So far, the physical and mental condition of the players is at the optimum level and I have no serious injury problems," he said when met at the Kedah branch office of the Malaysian Malays Football Association here today.

In the quarterfinals last week, Kedah beat Penang 2-0 at the City Stadium in Penang while Melaka overcame Selangor 2-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win at the Hang Tuah Stadium here.

The other semifinal will be contested between Pahang and Perlis who beat Police (2-0) and Malaysian Universities Sports Council (MASUM) 3-0, respectively.

MOE League Cup : Terengganu and Kedah emerge champions

SMK Bukit Nenas of Terengganu celebrated a rare double when they won the Under-14 Minister of Education League Cup (MELC) to add to their Charity Shield triumph at the beginning of the season.

But they nearly didn't make it as SMK Bukit Nenas had to come from a goal down in the first half to edge SMK Seri Kota of Malacca 2-1 in the final at the Langkawi Sports Complex yesterday.

"I believe that this is the first time that a team have won the double. We showed that the young players from Terengganu can emulate the success of the senior state team," said Zainuddin Md Zain, the coach of SMK Bukit Nenas.

"After trailing by a goal, I told the players that they have nothing to lose and that they should go all out to make sure that they come back with the crown this time round after losing in the final last year."

In spite of the early pressure, SMK Seri Kota took the lead in the 17th minute when Muhammad Haziq Iskandar Khalid slammed home from close range.

But the concession of a penalty six minutes into the second half allowed SMK Bukit Nenas to draw level after captain Muhammad Aqil Irfanuddin Mohd Sabri sent SMK Seri Kota goalkeeper Muhammad Khairil Zol the wrong way. With four minutes remaining, Mohd Zarulizwan Mazlan nailed the winner.

It was good to be in the final and even though we lost, I felt that the best team won on the day," said Mohd Faimi Abu, the chief coach of SMK Seri Kota.

In the Under-17 Ministry of Education Youth League, defending champions SMK Tunku Anum of Kedah had to fight tooth and nail before prevailing over SMK Syed Hassan of Perlis 2-1 in extra time.

SMK Tunku Anum scored twice in extra time to win their second crown in two years after both sides were level 0-0 after full time.

MOE League Cup : Terengganu-Malacca and Kedah-Perlis in the Finals

Terengganu will face Malacca in the Under-14 category while Kedah will meet Perlis in the Under-17 category of Minister of Education League Cup (MELC) finals.

SMK Bukit Nenas of Terengganu will face Malacca's SMK Seri Kota in the final of the Under-14 Minister of Education League Cup (MELC) on July 26.

SMK Bukit Nenas, losing finalists last year, upstaged defending champions SMK Tunku Anum of Kedah 2-0 in Alor Star in the first leg semi-final and 1-0 at home in the second leg.
Mohd Zalanie Zakaria scored the only goal of the second leg in the 66th minute.

"Playing against Tunku Anum was quite stressful. We knew anything could happen, so we did not pressure the players too much," said SMK Tunku Anum team manager, Norizan Mohamed.

In the other semi-final, SMK Seri Kota came from a goal deficit in the first leg to beat SMK Seberang Temerloh of Pahang 4-0.
The scorers for the Malacca side were P. Yugan (7th minute), Muhammad Haziq Iskandar Khalid (18th), Muhammad Hazim Razali (52nd) and Muhammad Najmuddin Samat (70th).

"The players showed good discipline and they worked hard," said SMK Seri Kota coach Mohd Faimi Abu.

In the Under-17 Ministry of Education Youth League, SMK Tunku Anum of Kedah reached the final after beating SMK Seberang Temerloh of Pahang 5-4 on penalties after regulation time ended 1-1. Khairun Annas Ibrahim (87th minute) cancelled out SMK Seberang Temerloh's 47th minute strike through Mohd Rafani Wahab. The score in the first leg in Alor Star was 1-1.

SMK Tunku Anum's opponents in the final will be SMK Syed Hassan of Perlis.

After losing 2-0 at home last week, SMK Syed Hassan powered to beat SMK Mutiara Impian of Penang 5-2 with goals from Mohamad Safiuddin Md Salim (4th, 75th minute), Alif Che Zahir (42nd) and Mohamad Syafiq Azmi (47th, 75th).
The scorers for SMK Mutiara Impian were Amirul Syazani Roslan (17th) and Muhamad Faizat Mohamad Ghazli (40th).

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.