Perak and Perlis complete cast for second round of U-14 meet
KUALA LUMPUR: Perak and Perlis are the last two teams to qualify for the second round of the 1MAS Under14 hockey championship.
The silver state outplayed Singapore 4-0 to top Group B with 10 points from three wins and a draw while Perlis came back from a goal down to beat Melaka 4-1 in Group A.
Perlis, Kelantan and Penang were tied with six points from four matches but Perlis finished runners-up on better goal difference.
Muhamad Elly Iskandar Ahmad gave Melaka the lead in the 33rd minute but Perlis stormed back to score four goals in eight minutes at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.
Ahmad Ashraf Hariz Baharuddin equalised for Perlis in the 34th minute and two minutes later Ahmad Fakhrul Aiman Abdullah made it 2-1.
They scored two more through Muhd Farid Kadir (40th) and Shahmi Haikal Shahrizal (42nd).
Perak’s Muhammad Amirul Harif Mamat (16th, 37th) and Mohamed Farishshah Fauzian (28th, 36th) scored a brace each to tame Singapore.
Despite the big win, Perak manager-cum-coach Mohd Salleh Mohd Sharif was not impressed with his boys.
“The players don’t have a game structure as the team are made up of players from four different schools – Anderson, Gunung Rapat School, Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) and Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (SSTMI),” said Salleh.
“They naturally have a problem playing as a unit. And I hope they will be able to click in the second round as we will be up against stronger opponents.
“Last year, we finished fifth but this time we are aiming for a topfour finish,” added Salleh.
The other four teams in the second round are defending champions Pahang, last year’s runners-up Johor, Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.
Perak, Perlis and Kuala Lumpur will play in Group X while Pahang, Sabah and Johor are drawn in Group Y. The group winners will play in the final.
In the girls’ competition, defending champions Pahang reached the second round with a 100% record when they defeated Kedah 2-0 in a Group A match.
In their fourth match, Zati Alyani Muhammad Zubir gave Pahang the lead in the 28th minute. Four min- utes later J. Thibatharshini doubled the score for her sixth goal to date.
Terengganu also qualified from the group after a 2-2 draw against Perlis.
Both teams were tied with seven points from four matches but the East Coast side made it on better goal difference.
The other teams in the second round are Melaka, Selangor, Penang and Kuala Lumpur.