The Saaris can’t stop sounding the board
Brothers share five goals as Terengganu tear Penang apart
KUALA LUMPUR: Saari brothers – Faizal and Fitri – shared five goals to steer Terengganu to a thumping 8-2 win over Penang in a Division One Group B match and seal their place in the semi-finals of the Razak Cup at the Kuantan Hockey Stadium.
Fitri grabbed a hat-trick in the 42nd, 54th and 58th minutes while his elder brother Faizal netted a brace (43rd and 57th).
MohdFirhan Ashaari (19th, 66th) and Mohd Shafiq Nordin (23rd) scored the other goals for the East Coast team as Izwan Firdaus (14th) and Jiwa Mohan (30th) replied for Penang.
Terengganu completed their fixtures with six points – two wins and a loss. They beat Johor 3-1 and lost 5-3 to hosts Pahang.
Terengganu will face defending champions and Group A winners Kuala Lumpur in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Terengganu manager Mohd Saberi said they will be gunning for revenge, having lost to the City boys at the same stage in Malacca last year.
“We lost to KL 2-1 in last year’s semis despite leading 1-0 through Faizal’s goal. This time we intend to get the better of them and qualify for our first Division One final,” he said. “Our best performance in the tournament was the third placing last year.”
The other semi-final will be between Pahang and Negri Sembilan.
Pahang could only manage a 1-1 drawagainst Johor but itwasenough for them to top Group B.
Mohd Fahmi Abdullah gave Pahang the lead in the 11th minute but Johor equalised through Izwan Mohd Salleh in the 44th.
Selangor, meanwhile, continued their winning ways by beating Malacca 3-1 to be the first team from Division Two to qualify for the final.
Selangor have 13 points and one match left – against Kedah today.
Malacca and Sabah are tied with nine points and fighting for the remaining spot in the final.
Malacca, who have a better goal difference, only need a draw against Perlis while Sabah have to beat Police today to join Selangor in the final.