Metro

Monday May 13, 2013

Another narrow defeat for Kedah President Cup contenders go down 0-1 to TMI again in second encounter

By DASHEER NOH
north@thestar.com.my


KEDAH suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat to Tunku Mahkota Ismail (TMI) team in a second round President Cup soccer league match at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar on Thursday evening.

The lone goal came from striker Hakimi Hussin who sent a looping header into the far corner of the Kedah goal in the 25th minute to register another victory over Kedah. In the first round match played at Bandar Penawar on Feb 7, TMI had won by a similar margin.

Both teams set a fast pace from the kick-off but it was TMI who held the edge with their strong tackles and quick recovery to maintain control of the match.

Several Kedah moves were promptly checked by the speedy TMI defence led by S. Yugan, Amirul Ikmal and skipper Shafiq Azreen. Backed by the solid defence, TMI attacked in droves and created many goal-scoring chances.

In the 15th minute, Sean Eugene beat the Kedah off-side trap and raced towards goal but the Kedah goalkeeper sensed the danger and quickly rushed out to block the goal-bound shot by the striker.

Four minutes later, TMI had another chance to open accounts but again the Kedah goalkeeper foiled their attempt. This time, it was Mohd Amirul Ghani who had the Kedah custodian at his mercy but shot straight at the advancing goalkeeper.

The visitors continued to dominate proceedings and obtained their lone goal in the 25th minute. Referee Mohd Jefri Zolkefli awarded a free kick near the centre line to TMI and skipper Shafiq Azreen stepped up to send a long ball into the Kedah goalmouth.

A lurking Hakimi Hussin outjumped the Kedah defence at the far post to send a loop- ing header into the opposite corner of the goal with goalkeeper Mohd Ifwat Akmal stranded.

Kedah’s efforts to fight back was in vain as their players failed to click under pressure for the rest of the half.

But it was a different story in the second half as Kedah came out fighting to put pressure on TMI who defended stoutly in numbers.

TMI were bent on keeping the one-goal lead and used their speed and body checks to unsettle the Kedah strikers.

In spite of the close marking and tough tackles, Kedah managed to create several goal-scoring opportunities to get on level terms but their strikers were a letdown.

Their best chance came in the 74th minute when striker Mohd Syafiq Ahmad failed to score in front of goal.

Abdul Muiz Mutalib floated a cross from the left and Mohd Syafiq chested it down nicely in front of goal but instead of making a first-time shot at goal, he chose to control it and was robbed by a defender, and the golden opportunity was lost.

Thereafter, Kedah continued to pound the TMI goal for the rest of the match but were let down by inaccurate shooting and a hardworking and alert TMI defence who pounced on every loose ball.

This is Kedah’s sixth defeat in 21 matches. They have won 10 and drawn five of the matches for 35 points.

Their next match will be an away encounter against Sabah on May 16.

In their first round match played on Feb 14, Kedah and Sabah drew 2-2 at the Darulaman Stadium.

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