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Sunday October 4, 2009

Kedah in dire straits

By ERIC SAMUEL

PETALING JAYA: Defending champions Kedah are in danger of missing the cut for the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup competition after losing 0-1 to Penang in a Group E match at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar last night.

It was the second straight defeat for the Canaries, who are now winless in three matches, and are staring at an early exit at the group stage.

With three more matches to go. the treble winners are slumped at the bottom of the standings with only one point.

Last night, Rafiuddin Roddin’s free-kick in the 63rd minute handed the Panthers their first win in the group.

To compound Kedah’s misery, they had skipper Victor Andrag red-carded in the 62nd minute.

In another Group E match, Kelantan notched their third straight win when they edged Armed Forces 2-1 at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium.

Mohd Norfarhan Mohd scored the all-important goal for the Red Warriors in stoppage time after national player Indra Putra Mahayuddin had put the east coast side in front from the spot kick in the 18th minute.

Zahari Zaini equalised for the Armed Forces in the 34th minute.

Kelantan continue to top the standings with nine points as the soldiers drop to third spot with two points. Penang move up to second place with four points.

In the Group A matches, KL Plus FC defeated Perlis 2-1 at Stadium Utama in Kangar while Premier League outfit Malacca and demoted Super League side Pahang drew 3-3 at the Hang Tuah Stadium.

Negri Sembilan continued with their strong showing in Group B when they edged Terengganu 1-0 at the Sultan Mohd Ismail Stadium. National striker Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak scored the solitary goal from the penalty spot in the 26th minute.

In another Group B match, Johor picked up their first win when they beat Sarawak 4-1 at the Sarawak Stadium in Kuching.

In Group C, Johor FC suffered an unexpected blow when they went down 0-2 to Perak at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang.

Razali Umar Kandasmy fired Perak into the lead in the 19th minute before Mohd Noor Hasrul Mustaffa doubled their lead in the 43rd minute.

Police saw their Malaysia Cup hopes diminish when they fell to their second defeat in Group D, losing 2-0 to Sabah at the Tawau Stadium.

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