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Tuesday October 13, 2009

Seven sides slug it out for remaining quarter-final spots

By LOGANATH VELLOO

GEORGE TOWN: Seven teams are in the running to occupy the four remaining berths in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals in the final round of group matches today.

With Kelantan, Selangor, KL Plus and Negri Sembilan having confirmed their places, it’s down to the wire for Perlis (Group A), Terengganu (Group B), Johor FC and Perak (Group C), Kuala Muda Naza (Group D) and Kedah and Penang (Group E) to claim tickets.

The five group champions and the three best second-place teams advance to the quarter-finals.

The plum tie of the round is the do-or-die Group C top-of-the table clash between Johor FC and Perak. The winners will claim the top spot and the losers may be eliminated.

Johor FC coach Ramlan Rashid said: “We only need a draw to top the group but we cannot afford to be too cautious in Ipoh. It will be an exciting match as both teams need a positive result to qualify.

“The Johor FC players respect Perak, especially after a 0-2 defeat at home in the first round two weeks ago. But we will be thinking of emulating our 3-0 Super League win in Ipoh earlier in the year.”

Perlis, Terengganu and Kuala Muda Naza will all be up against their group leaders.

And the three teams, who will be gunning for full points to strengthen their positions as the best runner-ups, will be hoping for favours from their already qualified opponents.

Perlis tackle KL Plus in Cheras, Terengganu travel to Paroi to face Negri Sembilan and Kuala Muda Naza host Selangor in Alor Setar.

It has to be noted that Perlis, Terengganu and Kuala Muda all lost to their opponents in the corresponding first-round fixtures two weeks ago.

Among the seven hopefuls, Kedah and Penang, who play each other at the State Stadium in Batu Kawan, have the slimmest chance to stay alive in the competition. Not only will the two northern neighbours have to win big but they also need several other results to go their way.

“We will go all out to win the final game against Kedah. After that, it is out of our hands and we can only hope for the best with the other results,” said Penang coach S. Veloo.

“We will enjoy home ground advantage. Hopefully, my players will be able to produce another good performance to complete a double win over Kedah.”

Defending champions Kedah are staring at bowing out empty-handed after the glorious treble-winning efforts of the last two seasons.

The season thus far belongs to Selangor, who have in their bag the Charity Shield, FA Cup and Super League title.

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