Friday July 29, 2011
Razak Cup: KL champions again
By AFTAR SINGH
MALACCA: Nabil Fiqri Mohd Noor scored the winning goal in sudden- death extra time to help Kuala Lumpur beat Pahang 1-0 in the Division One final and retain the Razak Cup title at the Bukit Serendit Stadium here yesterday.KL pocketed RM10,000 for winning their 19th title while Pahang, who did not have the services of any national players, earned RM7,000 as the 49th edition of the country’s premier hockey tournament came to an end.
However, Pahang deserved much of the plaudits despite the loss as they defied the odds with a sensational run to the final.
KL, powered by five national players, failed to play true to form. They also wasted six penalty corners in the match despite having two top penalty corner specialists in Mohd Amin Rahim and Mohd Razie Abdul Rahim.
Tough win: The Kuala Lumpur players and officials celebrate after the 1-0 win over Pahang at the Bukit Serindit Stadium in Malacca yesterday. — A. MALEX YAHYA / The StarKL coach I. Vickneswaran praised Pahang for “playing really well”.
“We were lucky to score in extra-time. Pahang gave us a real tough fight,” said Vickneswaran.
Pahang coach Izwan Suhardi too was not disheartened by the defeat, saying “we lost to a more experienced team who also had five national players”.
“I never expected my team, who only had 10 days of training, to reach the final. It’s a very good achievement for our state,” said Izwan.
“We only had 15 players for the final as midfielder Mohd Soffian (Mohamed) is nursing a knee injury while two other juniors – Mohd Hafiz Nawi and Mohd Rifhan Azhar – had returned home due to family matters.
[THE STAR]
