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Saturday October 10, 2009

Malaysia Cup: Night of joy and sorrow on the cards

By ERIC SAMUEL

PETALING JAYA: Today could be a night of joy for two teams and a night of shame for another.

Barring an upset, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, who are both undefeated in Group B and D respectively, should clinch their Malaysia Cup quarter-final tickets.

But it could be all over for defending champions and treble winners Kedah unless they beat Group E leaders Kelantan at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar.

Kedah, with only four points, are treading on thin ice and can’t even afford to draw against the east coast side.

But, if it is any consolation, at least Kelantan will be fielding their reserves after having qualified for the knockout stage with 12 points from four straight wins.

Kelantan coach B. Sathianathan, however, was quick to warn that fieding the reserves did not mean they would throw away the match.

“I want my players to perform no matter what happens ... the bottom line is that whoever is on the pitch must deliver,” said Sathianathan from Alor Setar yesterday.

“The tournament is not over. The players’ future will depend on these matches and how they perform,” said Sathianathan.

Selangor, with 12 points in Group D, need only a draw against Police at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium tonight to seal a place in the last eight.

Negri, however, need a win to seal top spot in Group B and advance into the knockout stage. With 12 points already in the bag, Negri should have no problems achieving their target by disposing of struggling Sarawak in Kuching.

The fight for top spot in Group A is between KL Plus FC and Perlis. The Highwaymen, with 10 points, should be good for all three points against Malacca at the Hang Tuah Stadium while the Northern Lions have a trickier task as they travel to Kuantan to face Pahang.

It is also a two-horse race in Group C with Perak and Johor FC tied with nine points each. Perak have a tricky away date with Kuala Lumpur while Johor FC should have no problems against already out of contention UPB-MyTeam.

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