Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Kelantan's Late Comeback
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With eight minutes remaining on the
clock, Kelantan were down and out of the Malaysia Cup. Despite
winning the first leg in Kuala Lumpur 2-1 against ATM, or Armed
Forces, a first half brace from veteran striker Marlon Alex James had
given the visitors the lead and put them on the verge of a finals
appearance.
Kelantan though are nothing if not
resilient. They came out for the second half more purposeful. The
midfield, almost nonexistent in the first 45 minutes, got more
involved, harrying the visitors in the centre of the park, depriving
James of service.
When ATM could get the ball forward,
James was always a threat. Such is his reputation, seven Malaysia Cup
goals going in to the game, when he missed what was a fairly simple
opportunity by his own high standards ironic cheers echoed round the
packed Sultan Muhammad IV stadium in Kota Bharu in the far north east
of the Malaysian peninsula.
Substitute Ahmad Fakri pulled a goal
back on 81 minutes and the noise level was cranked up another notch.
The tie was now delicately poised at 3-3 and could go either way.
ATM, who had been content to time waste since James had scored their
second goal giving them an aggregate lead, were less slothful when it
came to taking free kicks and throw ins.
It was to no avail. The tide had turned
and when Badri Radzi equalised with five minutes on the clock it was
Kelantan who had one foot in the final.
ATM still had their opportunities
though. With the home team pushing for another goal instead of
playing safe and keeping possession, they were always liable on the
counter attack.
With literally the last kick of the 90
minutes a sweet 20 yard volley by ATM striker Hairuddin Omar sailed
literally inches over the crossbar. Minutes later, deep in injury
time, Kelantan keeper, Malaysian international Khairul Fahmi reacted
with a finger tip save to to keep a goal bound effort out and within
seconds, Kelantan were through to their third Malaysia Cup final in
five years.
It had been a pulsating cup tie
showcasing 'the best two teams in Malaysia' as Kelantan coach Bojan
Hodak said after the game and with Pahang drawing 1-1 in Sarawak,
coached by former Arema boss Robert Alberts, the following evening in
front of another sell out crowd of 20,000 to go through 4-2 on
aggregate sets up nicely next weekend's cup final to be held at Shah
Alam Stadium in Selangor.
After the game, the ATM coach, B
Sathianathan, who coached Kelantan before taking on the Armed Forces,
blamed the ref but was quick to point out the role the home support
had played in getting behind their team.
Certainly the home support was raucous
with plenty of noise throughout the game. Fans of the Indonesian game
may even recognize some familiar fan chants though with a slightly
different dialect!
While Kelantan have come to see the
Malaysia Cup as their own personal property, this will be their
fourth appearance in the last five seasons, Pahang have not been so
successful. Their last triumph came in 1992 and they have not made
the final since 1997.
The Malaysia Cup is the longest running
cup competition in Southeast Asia with Singapore defeating Selangor
2-1 in the first ever final held back in 1921.
Those two teams have since dominated
the trophy with Selangor winning the venerable trophy 32 times,
Singapore, despite withdrawing in 1994, have 24 titles to their date.
The last few seasons though have seen a
geographical shift in power in Malaysian football. Selangor's last
triumph was in 2005. Since then Kelantan, Kedah and Negeri Sembilan
have lifted the trophy on two occasions while Perlis have one win to
their name. In the history of Malaysian football those four clubs
have been serial underachievers, minnows to be steamrollered by
mighty Selangor.
But while this season's final will be
between two of the more traditional state teams, less football clubs
in the traditional sense of the word and more football associations,
there is a feeling that in Malaysia there is another shift on the
horizon.
With the national team winning the
ASEAN Football Federation Cup in 2010 and back to back SEA Games
titles, the regional dominance is slowly trickling down to the
domestic competition. ATM were one of the first clubs to start
ploughing serious money into the squad while the likes of Sime Darby
and Johor Darul Takzim have also been splashing the cash; JDT have
added for Argentine international Pablo Aimar to their ranks for the
next campaign.
Unfancied T Team from the north eastern
state of Terangganu last season boasted George Boateng, former Aston
Villa and Middlesbrough, and Caleb Forlan, a former Republic of
Ireland international.
There is still a stench of match fixing
though. A recent Malaysia Cup tie is thought to have been suspicious
with one of the teams involved acting quickly in reporting their
doubts to the Football Association of Malaysia.
Next week's showpiece final will be an
80,000 plus sell out as the east coast empties. The final always is.
Yet, despite the longetivity of the competition and the crowds it
attracts the cup remains little known outside of Malaysia.
Within Malaysia though, a new
professionalism is taking the game to greater heights. Serious TV
money has changed the coverage and the Malaysia Cup now boasts a new
sponsor, a multinational pharmacy; gone are the days of state owned
enterprises and tobacco firms plastering their names on player’s
shirts.
Next week's final promises to be a
special sporting event.
SOURCE - My column from today's Jakarta Globe but not on line yet
# posted by Me @ 1:21 PM 
