Malacca whip Johor to stay on course for a place in semi-finals

Malacca kept up their excellent run in the national Under-21 tournament, chalking up their third consecutive win convincingly in a Group B match against Johor at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

Malacca won the match 4-1 and it followed thumping wins over Terengganu (5-0) and Perlis (6-0). A win over Selangor today will put them through to the semi-finals with a match in hand against Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

Malacca's skipper Nazmi Kamaruddin continued to strike it hot. He was on target twice against both Terengganu and Perlis. Yesterday, he scored another brace with flicks off penalty corners in the 10th and 40th minutes.

Mohd Fareez Ismail also scored two goals for Malacca – in the 47th minute with a reserve stick attempt and in the 66th minute off a penalty corner set-piece.

Mohd Andika Norarahis converted a penalty corner for Johor in the 54th minute.

Malacca coach G. Ravindran said that his boys were continuing to improve as the tournament progressed.

“In the first two matches, they played well in the first half. But against Johor, they maintained good games in both halves. The tournament is getting tougher.

“We will be facing two strong teams in Selangor and KL and we expect tough matches because they are also in contention for semi-final berths,” said Ravindran.

“I hope my players can continue playing well to beat Selangor and qualify for the semi-finals.”

Selangor, meanwhile, paid a heavy price for a 1-0 win over Perlis yesterday with Faridzul Afiq Mohd scoring the goal in the 10th minute.

Captain Mohd Zulfadli Mohd Isa suffered an ankle injury and he is expected to miss the crucial match against Malacca.

“It (the match against Malacca) will be do-or-die for us.

“But we are unlikely to have the services of Zulfadli, who was taken to hospital for X-ray,” said coach Paul Raj.

Penang chalked up their second win, beating defending champions Perak 4-0 to go top in Group A.

Their scorers were Mohd Jamil Saidin (10th), R. Anbananthan (18th), M. Yuvaraj (26th) and Craig Joseph Fernandez (34th).

Penang are expected to beat winless Pahang today to take a step closer to the semi-finals. Their final group fixture is against Kelantan tomorrow.