DERBY DAY CONDEMNATION

The result read SPURS 1 PALACE 3. Another London derby defeat for Tottenham after their 4-1 capitulation to North London rivals, Arsenal the week before. It left the white side of North London just a point above relegation zone with eight matches to go.

It would have hurt more for Spurs fans if these results condemned them to relegation, especially the one against Arsenal. However they would be spared from the embarrassment with there are quite a lot of football to be played this season. 

However, it was not the case in Sheffield.

The Steel City derby between United and Wednesday saw the visitors needing to avoid defeat at Brammal Lane to defer the inevitable outcome of their calamitous season, which saw them being deducted points twice, a 12 point deduction on 24 October for filing for administration and another six points on 1 December after failing to meet payment obligations.

Wednesday came to The Lane with a minus seven point to their name but gaining a draw would spare them the relegation in front of their local rivals fans.

However things went wrong almost from the first whistle. Former Leeds United striker, Patrick Bamford opened the scoring for United just after two minutes. By the 20th minute they were two goal up thanks to a goal scored by Harrison Burrows.

Wednesday gained a man advantage after Kalvin Phillips was shown the red card four minutes into the second half and they took advantage of it by reducing the deficit through Charlie McNeill four minutes later.

However they equaliser never come and the final nail of Wednesday's relegation coffin was nailed in front of their local rival fans at Brammal Lane.

It is a record that a team was relegated with 13 matches to go in the season, the fastest in English football top tiers.

2018 ASIAN GAMES: ARRIVAL

Yesterday marked my arrival at the 18th Asian Games 2018 when the Air Asia flight QZ203 touched down at the Soekarno Hatta International Airport.

The arrival was at the brand new Terminal 3 which should give all the participants at the games a good impression of the host as everything was in good condition.

Mind you that it is a long walk from your arrival gate to the exit. However they provide you with a buggy service so you can get there faster. As usual my preference was to walk.

After the long walk, I arrived at the Asian Games accreditation site which was manned by volunteers who were ready to assist you through the process.

However, I was surprised when they said it was for officials and athletes only and not for the others, such as us the media people. It was rectified a short while later and I was given the necessary stickers and lanyard for my accreditation card.

The organiser provided an express lane for Asian Games delegates going through the immigration process but once again to my dismay that someone said it was for athletes and officials only. 

However, I was still ushered to the express lane anyway by a volunteer and the immigration process took less than five minutes which was good, perhaps due to the fact there were not many of the delegates arriving at that time.

Once I got outside the process, there were many volunteers outside waiting to assist the delegates to go to their next destination, in my case the old Terminal 2 where I was meeting the rest of Asiana members who would be arriving later.

The three terminals and the Soekarno Hatta Train Station were connected by a train facility called the Skytrain. It is free and passengers have to go their respective stations and wait for the trains which were scheduled to arrive between 7 to 10 minutes intervals.

I was ushered all the way to Terminal 2 by the volunteers which was good. Upon arrival there I saw a location stating Asian Games Transportation though upon checking once again was told by volunteers they were for officials and athletes only.

It was different from my experience at Incheon, Korea covering the previous Asian Games. There anybody with an Asian Games accreditation card was entitled to board any bus to the city which in my case to go to the Main Press Centre (MPC).

Of course one should take it as another opportunity to explore another mode of transportation from the Soekarno Hatta Airport to the city, which was the new train service similar to the one in Malaysia, The KLIA Transit.

It was likened to the Transit as the train made a few stops along the way, which in this case Duri and Batu Ceper. It cost IDR70,000 and it is a cashless transaction which in my case using my Visa debit card at the ticketing machine.

The train itself was brand new and they have USB charging ports in between the seats in case you feel like replenishing your gadget’s battery.

The view was something else as the train go through its route with the sight of paddy fields and kids enjoying playing in the villages which was quite soothing to the eyes. 

Then as the train was nearing the city, those sights were replaced by the harsh reality of life in the metropolitan city of Jakarta as you could observe houses built very close to one another and the condition was quite bad. 

The journey ended at the Sudirman Station but I could not get the necessary direction from the station staff on how to go to my next destination, the MPC at the Jakarta Convention Centre. 

So, I took the next best option in Jakarta which was the Go-Jek, a Grab like ride hailing service on motorcycles. As I did not install the apps on my phone I chose to flag one after he had dropped off a passenger at the station.

The ride took me through Jakarta infamous traffic and I could feel the different when riding in Kuala Lumpur and in Jakarta which I feel one word could describe it: intense.

The rider took me right to the gate of the JCC and it cost me IDR30,000.

There I bumped into a few familiar faces from Malaysia before making my way to the MPC to collect my Asian Games vest. The rest of the Asiana colleagues who took the taxi from the airport had arrived earlier.

The first day ended with us checking in at an apartment in at Sudirman Park and after a hearty meal at Sederhana which was located nearby, it was time to call it a night.

THE 2018 MALAYSIA CUP DRAW

The draw for the 2018 Malaysia Cup competition took place today with the sixteen teams qualified for the tournament were divided into four groups.

Group A saw Super League runners-up, Perak were drawn with fellow Super League sides Terengganu, Kuala Lumpur and Premier League side, Felcra.

In Group B, PKNS will have Melaka United, Premier League champions Felda United and the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) as company.

Super League champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) were drawn into Group C and are favourites to progress with another slot would be fought between Kedah, Kelantan and MIFA.

Meanwhile FA Cup winners, Pahang, Selangor, PKNP and Premier League side Sabah were drawn together in Group D.

The competition will begin on 4 August.

PERAK FINISH AS SUPER LEAGUE RUNNER-UP AS TERENGGANU & PAHANG LOSE

Terengganu and Pahang failed to take advantage of Perak defeat to PKNS last night to grab the runners-up spot in the Super League when they lost their last match against Selangor and Kelantan respectively.

The 4-1 defeat suffered by Mehmet Durakovic's side in Shah Alam left them with 36 points and the two East Coast side, both on 34 points going into tonight's match only needed to win to emerge as runners-up to Johor Darul Ta'zim and a possible place in next season Asian competition.

However The Turtles missing two of their influential players, Lee Tuck and Thierry Bin in their midfield failed to rise to the occasion and lost 2-0 to Selangor, which literally had nothing to play for except pride.

Meanwhile The Elephants succumbed 2-1 in Kota Bahru to a Kelantan side looking to confirm their place in this season Malaysia Cup competition with a win following Negeri Sembilan defeat to Melaka United last night.

The defeat saw Pahang and Terengganu remained in fourth and fifth place respectively with PKNS surprising everyone by finishing third behind Perak.

IT'S FIVE IN A ROW FOR JDT

Johor Darul Ta’zim secured their fifth successive Super League title after winning their match against Perak in Ipoh last night. 

Photo courtesy of: Asiana.my

Second placed Perak seemed to have denied The Southern Tigers from doing that when they took the lead in the 72nd minute through Norhakim Hassan.

The former Terengganu forward good first touch took the ball under his control from a pass by Wander Luiz before unleashing a stiff shot past Farizal Marlias.

However, the visitors pulled level through Singaporean midfielder, Hariss Harun three minutes later when he stole in front of the Perak defence to head home the ball from a free-kick.

Then seven minutes from time Safawi Rashid headed home the winner after a good run on the left by Gonzalo Cabrera before the Argentine delivered a perfect cross into the penalty box.

TERENGGANU MOVED TO THIRD AFTER 3-1 WIN OVER KL

Terengganu jumped into third place, a point behind The Bos Gaurus after registering a 3-1 win over Kuala Lumpur in Kuala Terengganu.

The Turtles who were expected to collect all three points from this match based on The City Boys poor record on the road however were shocked when Guilherme De Paula headed the visitors into the lead in the 33rd minute.

The Brazillian kept up his good goalscoring record against Terengganu by heading the ball past a stranded Suffian Rahman from a free-kick by Paulo Josue, aided by the misjudgment of Igor Zonjic who was trying to head the ball but completely missing it.

It seemed for a while that Kuala Lumpur could be doing a double over Terengganu with their former goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee was once again in a good form.

Then in the 38th minute Terengganu were level when Abdul Malik Ariff touched the ball home after a good delivery by full-back, Hafizal Mohamad from the right. It was the former Kuantan player first competitive goal for Terengganu.

The Turtles started the second half brightly by forcing a free-kick at the edge of the Kuala Lumpur penalty box but Do Dong-Hyun missed the goal by just a whisker.

Then in the 53rd minute Terengganu took the lead for the first time in the match when Zonjic made up for his first half error by heading home a corner kick by Lee Tuck.

The home side confirmed all the three points by snatching the winner in added time at the end of the ninety minutes when their skipper, Tchétché Kipré’s low delivery across the goal was turned in by substitute, Abdul Latiff Suhaimi.

MELAKA COMPLETED LEAGUE DOUBLE OVER KEDAH

Meanwhile at the Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka completed their league double over Kedah by winning their encounter with a 4-1 scoreline. They have earlier recorded a 2-0 win over The Red Eagles in Alor Setar in early June.

Khair Jones and Gopinathan Ramachandra gave the home side a 2-0 lead at the interval before Kedah pulled one back through a penalty by striker, Paolo Rangel in the 53rd minute.

However, Melaka continued to dominate and Gopinathan scored his second of the night in the 62nd minute before Ifedayo Omosuyi scored five minutes before time to complete the rout over the visitors.

GERMAN MENTAL STRENGTH ON SHOW DURING COMEBACK AGAINST SWEDEN

Germany mental strength was on show last night as they fought back from a goal down against Sweden to register their first win at the 2018 FIFA World Cup with virtually the last kick of the match.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

After their shock defeat to Mexico in the first outing in Russia, Joachim Löw men needed to win this match while the Swedes could do with a draw after winning their opening match against South Korea.

They started well, creating a number of openings which gave them the confidence that they will get the result they wanted but on the half hour mark, Toni Kroos pass was intercepted by Sebastian Larrson.

The ball was spreaded wide to Viktor Claesson who then made a searching pass that eventually found Ola Toivonen who made his run into the box. The Toulouse forward then just lifted the ball over the advancing Manuel Neuer to give his team the lead.

The holders needed to come up with something special but the way they performed for the rest of the first half it looked like they were on their way home from the group stage, emulating the fates of France (2002), Brazil (2010) and Spain (2014).

Whatever Löw did in the dressing room during the interval was highly effective as his men came out blazing in the second half and just three minutes into it the score was level.

Timo Werner made a run down the left hand side before delivering a low ball across the Swedish goal. Mario Gomez missed it but Marco Reus did not, connecting with the ball with the upper part of his leg which was enough to divert it past the stranded Robin Olsen.

The Copenhagen goalkeeper then proceeded to frustrated the Germans with a number of brilliant saves and it looked like Olsen had done enough to ensure a point for his side as the match entered it’s fifth minute of stoppage time.

The Germans were playing with just ten men after defender Jérōme Boateng received his second yellow card in the 82nd minute and were looking for a break, especially after seeing substitute Julian Brandt hitting the post with a shot from outside the box earlier.

It came when a foul by substitute Jimmy Durmaz presented Germany with a free-kick just outside the Sweden penalty box. A short tap by Tony Kroos to Reus set the Real Madrid player for a shot that had Olsen completely beaten and lifted the holders into second place.

UNLUCKY SOUTH KOREA LEFT REELING AFTER DEFEAT BY MEXICO

South Korea bowed out from the 2018 FIFA World Cup after losing for the second time in their Group F fixtures. This time it was against Mexico who caused an upset by defeating holders, Germany during their opening match.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

It was quite unlucky for the Koreans when they went behind to a penalty in the 26th minute after Serbian referee, Milorad Mazic pointed to the spot when the ball hit Jang Hyun Soo’s hand while trying to block a cross by Andrés Guardado.

Former Arsenal forward, Carlos Vela converted the penalty to give El-Tri the lead and made the match more open as the Asian side tried to find the equaliser. However the Taeguk Warriors could not find an opening to beat Guillermo Ochoa between the Mexican posts. 

They fell further behind in the 66th minute in a rather unfortunate fashion. The Koreans were in a dominating spell with successive attempts launched at Mexico.

The match officials should have spotted a foul when Guardado clipped a Korean player feet in his attempt to win the ball which subsequently found it’s way to Javier Hernández who beat goalkeeper, Kim Seung-Gyu with a low shot.

After pushing hard all match, finally South Korea managed to get a goal when Song Heung-Min’s shot from outside the box rendered Ochoa helpless but it came too little too late to keep them in the tournament.

BRACES FOR LUKAKU & HAZARD AS BELGIUM STROLL PAST TUNISIA

It was a stroll in the park for Belgium as they scored five past Tunisia during their 2018 FIFA World Cup match played at the Otkritie Arena in Moscow.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

Belgium opened the scoring in the sixth minute when their captain, Eden Hazard slotted home a penalty after he was brought down inside the box by Tunisia defender, Syam Ben Youssef.

The Red Devils went two goals ahead after sixteen minutes when Romelo Lukaku made a composed finish after receiving a pass from Dries Mertens.

However Tunisian hopes were raised two minutes later when Dylan Bronn headed the ball past Thibaut Courtois from a free-kick by Wahbi Khazri.

Lukaku then made it 3-1 in the third minute of the stoppage time at the end of the first half when he dinked the ball over Tunisia goalkeeper, Farouk Ben Mustapha after a good run by Thomas Meunier on the right.

It was 4-1 six minutes into the second half when Kevin De Bruyne released Hazard in the middle and the Chelsea man remained composed to slot the ball past Farouk.

It got worse for Tunisia in the 90th minute when Michy Batsuayi latched onto a pass from the right and slotted it past Farouk who had denied the Borussia Dortmund player from scoring on two occasions earlier.

Khazri restored some pride for Tunisia when he slotted the ball past Courtois deep into stoppage time from a cutback but by then Belgium already confirmed as the winner of the match and a place in the knockout round.

SWITZERLAND COMEBACK FROM BEHIND AGAINST SERBIA

Switzerland came back from trailing to an early goal to collect all three points against Serbia from their 2018 FIFA World Cup Group E match played at the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

The Serbs had a dream start when striker, Alekxandar Mitrović headed home a cross from Dušan Tadić in the fifth minute. The Newcastle United player had an earlier effort saved by Swiss goalkeeper, Yann Sommer.

Just before halftime, his opposite number, Vladimir Stojković denied Switzerland the equaliser when he managed to push away a Blerim Džemaili effort which was on target.

However, Switzerland only needed seven minutes into the second half to pull level when Granit Xhaka hit a first timer from outside the penalty box after the initial shot by Xherdan Shaqiri was blocked.

Then just around the hour mark, Shaqiri saw his effort hit the Serbs’ crossbar as Valdimir Petković’s boys grew in confidence. 

Both teams were going for the winner but it was The Swiss who  managed to get it when from a quick break in the last minute of regulation time.

Shaqiri latched onto a pass by Xhaka before holding off the challenge from Duško Tošić before slotting the ball past Stojković to seal all three points for Switzerland which moved to second place with the place in the knockout phase seemed almost certain.

MUSA BRACE GAVE NIGERIA VICTORY OVER ICELAND

Ahmad Musa scored a brace as Nigeria came alive in the second half in their 2018 FIFA World Cup match against Iceland played at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

After their defeat against Croatia on their opener Nigeria needed to get the points on board in order to qualify for the next round. Having held the much favoured Argentina to a draw on their first ever World Cup finals match, Iceland took the field with high confidence.

Despite that there were not many chances created by both sides in the first 45 minutes with Gylfi Sigurdsson free-kick for Iceland that was saved by goalkeeper, Francis Ozuho the closest moment to come to a goal.

However the match came alive in the second. Musa in his attempt to control a pass from Victor Moses lifted the ball up and allowed it to come down before hitting a half-volley past Iceland goalkeeper, Hannes Halldorssón four minutes after the restart.

Iceland tried to make a comeback but Musa struck again fifteen minutes from time when his pace brought him past defender, Kári Árnason and after taking it past Halldorssón picked his spot to slot home his second goal of the match.

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) came into play when Björn Sigurdarson was deemed to have brought been brought down by defender, Kenneth Omeruo in the penalty area. However Sigurdsson could not keep his spot-kick down despite Ozuho going the wrong way.

At the final whistle, Nigeria registered their first win and this would set up nicely for the final group matches when they face Argentina while Iceland take on the already qualified Croatia.

STOPPAGE TIME HEARTBREAK FOR COSTA RICA

Heartbreak for Costa Rica tonight when they went down 2-0 to Brazil after holding their fort intact for the full ninety minutes of their 2018 Fifa World Cup match.

Photo courtesy of www.fifa.com

The Central American side put out a resolute performance to held Neymar & co. at bay and even survive a penalty decision when Dutch referee, Bjorn Kuipers had judged that Neymar had been pulled down in the penalty area by a Costa Rica defender.

However it was later rescinded by the referee after watching the replay of the incident on video at the review area and instead awarded a free kick to Óscar Ramírez’s side.

Real Madrid goalkeeper, Keylor Navas was inevitably the busier goalkeeper as Brazil peppered his goal with shots from the first whistle.

Having drawn their opening match against Switzerland, Brazil needed to win and they went all out to ensure all three points would come their way. 

However, they came up against a Costa Rica side determined not to go home early, having lost their opening match against Serbia 1-0 in a match played at the Cosmos Arena in Samara. 

Navas did what was required and he and his team-mates were six minutes away from picking up their first point as the match entered stoppage time.

A cross from Marcelo into the box was headed down by Roberto Firmino and Neymar tried to control it. However, Philippe Coutinho made a darting run into the box and slotted it between Navas legs much to the delight of all Brazillians around the world.

Then as the stoppage time entered it’s seventh minute, Gabriel Jesus who had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half laid the ball for Neymar to score his first goal of the tournament and seal all three points for the South Americans side.

THT DEFEAT THUNDERBOLTS TO REACH ALAGENDRA CUP FINAL

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) reached their second successive Alagendra Cup final after brushing aside TNB Thunderbolts challenge in their semi-final match today.

Sarjit Singh’s men will face Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) in tomorrow’s final as they look to defend the title they won last season against Maybank.

Against The Thunderbolts, THT took the lead inside the first minute when their Argentine guest player, Gonzalo Peillat converted a penalty corner.

However, a strong performance by The Thunderbolts defence saw the score being kept at 1-0 until the end of the first quarter.

Then in the first minute of the second quarter, they sprung a surprise by equalising through Azril Misron's field goal. However, the situation did not last long as another guest player for THT, Joaqin Menini restored his side lead two minutes later.

Peillat then made the holders’ place in the final safe when he converted another penalty corner nine minutes from time to make the final score 3-1 in favour of THT.

In another semi-final, KLHC knocked out Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) to enter their first Alagendra Cup final, also with a 3-1 scoreline.

It will be a good opportunity for KLHC to avenge their 7-2 trashing at the hands of THT in last season’s semi-final especially with former THT topscorer, Jang Jong-Hyun playing for the city side.

The Korean scored twice in the fourth quarter, helping his new side to the win against UniKL after Joshua Pollard had already opened the scoring in the first.

UniKL cancelled out Pollard’s goal through Faridzul Afiq’s field goal in the second quarter.

FAIZAL HITS FIVE AS THT CRUISE PAST UiTM

Holders Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) opened their title defence of the Alagendra Cup with a 9-0 trashing of UiTM in their quarter-final match held at the National Hockey Stadium.

National player, Faizal Saari who led the team out today helped himself to five goals today with Argentine duo, Lopez Barreiros and Gonzalo Peilat shared three strikes between them. Another goal for THT was scored by Sufi Ismat.

It took only six minutes for Sarjit Singh’s men to break the deadlock with Barreiros sounding the board with a field goal before Sufi made it 2-0 a minute before the end of the first quarter.

Faizal then opened his account for the new season with another field goal in the 24th minute before making it 4-0 for THT  in the third quarter.

Argentine Olympic gold medalist, Peilat then opened his goal account in Malaysia with his trade-mark penalty corner goal making it 5-0 for THT at the end of the quarter.

Faizal completed his hattrick with a strike from a penalty corner in the 49th minute before adding a couple more goals in a space of two minutes each before Peilat completed UiTM’s misery with another penalty corner goal in the last minute.

THT which received a bye in the round of sixteen will take on TNB Thunderbolts in the last four while Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) face Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL). 

Both matches will be played at the National Hockey Stadium on Saturday.


Photo: Malaysian Hockey Confederation

AZREEN NABILA REWRITES 100 METRES RECORD

Terengganu sprinter, Azreen Nabila Alias broke the Girls Under 18, 100 metres record last night when she crossed the finishing line in a time of 12.02s, rewriting the old record of 12.07s registered by Johor, Chiew Hui Lian in 2010 at the 58th Malaysian Schools Sports Council Track & Field Championship held at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus.

The Terengganu Sports School student said she was expecting to win but did not expect to break the games record but was glad in doing so to repay the faith that was put in her by her coach Mohamad Nizam Yusop.

Elice Grenggori@Gregory of Sabah finished as the runners-up with a time of 12.58s while Selangor, Hee Xio Yee bagged the bronze medal with a time of 12.70s.

Negeri Sembilan Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi bagged the Boys Under 18 100 metres sprint gold when he pipped home favourite, Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail to the finishing line. Haiqal clocked 10.66s just 0.11s faster than Zulfiqar's time of 10.77s.

There was also another heartbreak for the home fans when Muhammad Shahriey Haazwanie Mohamad Shukri was pipped to the gold medal by Sarawak Audray MacShaquille Henry Jugah by 0.01s in the Boys Under 12 100 metres category.

Audray clocked a time of 12.37s with Shahriey recording 12.38s. Mohamad Idham Aqasha Mohamad Sabri of Pahang took the bronze with a time of 12.40s.

However Terengganu collected their second gold medal from the tracks in the 400 metres Girls Under 15 category when Noor Faizatul Nathasha Mohamad Bakri finished first with a time of 61.91s. Sabah Erlyn Yoong collected the silver with a time of 62.40s with Nur Ezrina Sofia Emylin Rosmizam took the bronze with a time of 63.57s.

Kedah Mohamad Anaqi Fitri Sobri registered a jump of 14.58m to win the gold in the Boys Under 18 triple jump while Ng Yu Jie of Pahang excelled in the Girls Under 18 category with a distance of 11.78m.

LimHow Sieng broke the championship record in the Boys Under 15 Discus event with a throw of 54.49m to win the gold for Sarawak with team-mate, Yong Shie Liang collecting the silver with a throw of 52.69m.

Another Sarawakian athlete, Grace Wong Xiu Mei also rewrote the record in the Girls hammer throw with a distance of 52.70m, bettering her own record of 50.74m registered last year.

...

TERENGGANU OPEN CAMPAIGN WITH A WIN OVER PENANG

Terengganu opened their 2016 Super League campaign with a hard fought win over Penang at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak last night.

Despite a fifth minute penalty miss by their Canadian international, Issey Nakajima Terengganu managed to breach the Penang defence in the 25th minute when a low shot by playmaker, Gustavo Lopez managed to beat goalkeeper, Sani Anuar.

The visitors adopted an aggressive approach in containing Terengganu players which saw a number of fouls committed by them, especially on Joseph Kalang Tie, Lopez and Nakajima.

However, match referee Naffez Abdul Wahab did not see any of them warranted any caution and only brandished the yellow card on the hour mark to Azrul Ahmad who still tried to plead his innocence despite fouling Lopez for the umpteenth time.

In the 34th minute, a long shot from midfield saw Penang coming closest to equalise but the ball hit the bar with Sharbinee Allawee completely beaten. The rebound hit the goalkeeper's back but luckily for Terengganu, Sharbinee managed to grab it before any further damage could be inflicted.

Lopez was denied a second goal when his freekick two minutes before the interval was on it's way in before Sani managed to claw it back out. The loose ball then fell to Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and he unleashed a stiff shot but once again Sani managed to palm it away.

Sharbinee had to be alert again in added time when Penang skipper, Mohamad Rafiuddin managed to break free on the left before unleashing a stiff shot, which much to the delight of the home supporters, the goalkeeper palmed away for a harmless corner.

The second half saw the post denying Terengganu from increasing their lead when Norshahrul who managed to find space on the left fired in a low shot which had Sani completely beaten but much to the forward's dismay, hit the post and rebounded to safety.

Terengganu fourth foreign player, Juan Morales was introduced in the 74th minute but he did not bring much impact to the attack.

Penang pressed hard to level the score but the tiring Terengganu players managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle to ensure their season started with a win.

ALL WHITE FOR TERENGGANU IN 2016

Terengganu will sport an all white look for the 2016 season when they play their matches at home.

The 2016 kits were revealed last night at a ceremony attended by Menteri Besar, Dato' Seri Mohamad Razif at the Batu Burok Square witnessed by their fans and supporters who packed the place to the hilt.

Despite the drizzling rain they remained in their place and were presented with a video presentation of the new kits, followed by the introduction of Terengganu squad.

In the end, they were introduced to The Turtles fourth foreign player, 34 years old Argentine, Jose Morales who will be part of the frontline.

Local brand, Kobert is the kits sponsor for the next two season and the design of all white with black trimmings were well received by the fans who commended on the simplicity of the design.

The away kits which are all black with gold trimmings were also well received by the fans. This is proven by the fact that almost all shirts that were put on sale for the first time last night were snapped up by them.

During the ceremony Terengganu players also spent some time signing autographs and posing for photos with the fans.

T-Team FC which are also sponsored by Kobert also revealed their kits last night. The Titans will be sporting a white shirt with black sleeves, black shorts and white socks.

Their away kit will be red top, white shorts and black socks. Meanwhile their third kit are all black.

THT COMPLETE 'DOUBLE DOUBLE'

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) did the double for the second season running after winning the TNB Cup by defeating Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) 5-4 via penalty shootouts during the final played at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium last night.

Both teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation time after Faizal Saari had scored from a penalty corner for THT but two minutes later Razie Rahim levelled things up, also from a penalty corner routine.

KLHC goalkeeper, Roslan Jamaluddin played a blinder to deny more goals for THT and during the shootouts he continued to be a pivotal figure as he denied the Terengganu side from scoring easily.

However it was his counterpart, Mohamad Hafizuddin who became the hero after he denied Mohamad Syamim from scoring in the sudden death phase and THT added the cup to the Premier League title they won earlier, repeating the feat they did last year.

Apart from the RM70 thousand prize money, THT also won the Fairplay award and Faizal emerged as the tournament topscorer while his brother, Fitri was named as Player of the Tournament.

Roslan was named as the Goalkeeper of the Tournament for his displays throughout the 2015 TNB-MHL season.

TURTLES HELD IN MALAYSIA CUP OPENER

Terengganu did not get the good start they were wishing for last night when they were held to a goalless draw by JDT II at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Shah Stadium.

Missing the suspended Issey Nakajima the home side struggled to get past JDT II defence marshalled by Baihakki Kaizan and well supported by Mohamad Afiq.

Norshahrul Idlan Talaha was given the responsibility to lead the Terengganu attack with support coming from Ashari Samsuddin and Ismail Faruqi.

As usual, Gustavo Lopez was the centre of most Terengganu attacking moves but the packed away defence saw most of his passes failed to really open up the JDT II rearguard.

Fakhrurazi Musa, Norshahrul, Ashari and Lopez all saw their efforts on JDT II goal missing the target. In fact, the home side did not win a single corner kick in the first half while Nenad Bacina's boys managed to squeeze a few from their counter-attacks.

The second half saw the introductions of Sharin Sapien and Hafizal Mohamad for Fakhrurazi and Helmi Remeli respectively.

However it did not change the complexion of the match with Terengganu continue failing to really trouble the visitors' defence with their wayward shooting.

Sharbinee Allawee had to be on his best to deny two good shots by JDT II players from going past him and then had the fortune smiling on him when Shahril Ishak shot went past the wrong side of the post.

In stoppage time, the home fans thought they would be seeing the goal they have been waiting for when referee, Zulkifli Ahmad awarded Terengganu a penalty after Ahmad Nordin Alias was brought down in the penalty area.

It was The Turtles first penalty since May when Paolo Rangel won and converted a penalty during their FA Cup semi final, second leg match against the Lions XII.

With Rangel missing from the line-up due to his suspension when his aggressive behaviour against the match officials during that match, Lopez stepped up to the plate.

The Argentine chose precision over power. His effort was going in until JDT II goalkeeper, Zulfadhli managed to get his hand on it, pushing the ball against the post.

It then rolled agonisingly on the line before it was eventually cleared by a JDT II defender and the final whistle was blown immediately leaving more than 13 thousand home fans with a dejected feeling.

However Group A is still very much open as Fandi Ahmad also failed to get his Lions XII to win all three points at the Jalan Besar Stadium against Premier League champions, Kedah.

The Canaries took the lead with a screamer from Sandro Mendonca in the 15th minute but the home side levelled the score two minutes later through Shahdan Sulaiman.

Group B action had begun on Friday with JDT defeating Perak 2-0 at the Hassan Yunos Stadium with goals from Safee Sali and Chanturu Suppiah in the first half sealing the points for the Southern Tigers.

Last night a stoppage time goal by Joseph Kalang Tie gave Sarawak all three points against the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) at the State Stadium in Kuching.

In Group C, Felda United brushed aside T-Team 3-0 at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium with Ndumba Makeche's brace sandwiching Indra Putra Mahyuddin penalty.

However the form book was reversed at the Shah Alam Stadium when Kelantan registered a 3-0 win over Selangor.

Gilmar headed The Stags in front in the 26th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Augustine Iwuji increased the lead before Gilmar helping himself to his second after a scramble in front of the Selangor goal.

Meanwhile in Kuantan, Dickson Nwakaeme was the toast of the town when he came off the bench to score the winner for the defending champions against the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM).

A hattrick by Azammuddin Akil gave The Elephants a healthy 3-1 lead at the interval with Dramane Trade replying for the visitors.

However The Cops scored twice through brilliant freekicks by Ali Ashfaq and Jamie Braganca to level the score.

It looked like to have spoil the home side plan until Pahang head coach, Zainal Abidin Hassan decided to unleash Nwakaeme for the last ten minutes and it paid off handsomely.

At the Bandaraya Stadium, home side Penang never recovered from two quick goals by PKNS FC. Nazrin Syamsulbahri broke the deadlock in the 17th minute and a minute later Gabriel Guerra made it 2-0.

Nizam Abu Bakar scored the visitor's third nine minutes into the second half to leave The Panthers in tatters.

2015 MALAYSIA CUP DRAW

The draw for the 2015 Malaysia Cup group stage was carried out this afternoon at a hotel in Petaling Jaya and it has thrown a few interesting match ups between the qualified teams.

Group A

Terengganu is the seeded team here and they will have the FA Cup winners, Lions XII in the group as well as Premier League champions, Kedah. The team formerly known as Johor FA, JDT II complete the line-up.

The east coast side has met the Lions four times this season with two home victories registered over Fandi Ahmad boys and The Turtles snatching a point in the league at Jalan Besar.

The Lions XII only win over Terengganu was in the first leg of the FA Cup when they won 2-1. An extra motivating factor Ahmad Yusof boys is the fact that it was the Lions XII who knocked them out of the FA Cup on away goals' rule.

The Lions did make a trip to Kedah en route to their FA Cup victory with a 4-0 win over FAM League side, Kedah United in the second round.

They also saw off the challenge from JDT II in the quarter-final of the competition, winning both legs 2-0 for a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win.

Kedah meanwhile are the in form team right now, having chased and caught up with Terengganu clubside, T-Team Titans on their way to the second tier title.

With just three defeats in twenty five matches in all competitions this season, Tan Cheng Hoe will definitely feel confident his players can match their Super League counterparts.

However one of those defeats came at the hands of JDT II who shocked them with a 1-0 win at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar in the FA Cup.

Inconsistencies saw JDT II promotion push falter in the later stage of the season with three defeats and a draw in their last six matches saw them eventually finishing in fifth place, fourteen points adrift of champions, Kedah.

GROUP B

Super League champions, Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) are expected to stroll into the quarter-finals from the looks of things here.

Despite an all Super League teams making up the group, Perak and Sarawak finished in the bottom half of the table while the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) found themselves relegated to the Premier League.

The only thing that could help the trios are JDT's AFC Cup commitments which could end soon if they failed to get the required result in Hong Kong against South China FC.

Thus it will the race for the second spot from this group and the three of them seem to have equal chance of accompanying JDT to the knock-out phase.

One interesting point in this group however, is the on-going feud between JDT and Perak fans with the last incident happening after The Bos Gaurus 2-0 defeat to The Southern Tigers in Johor Bahru.

On their way back, the Perak supporters alleged they were attacked by JDT supporters who threw objects at their buses causing damages and injuries to some.

In the past, there have been a few incidents between the two sets of supporters that saw the intervention of the Police and one could expect them to happen again in the Malaysia Cup.

GROUP C

Selangor will continue with their Mission-33 this season and they look good in getting into the knock-out phase with either Felda United or Kelantan accompanying them.

However, that will depend on Mehmet Durakovic getting his tactics right against the wily Irfan Bakti who pushed The Red Giants all the way in during their two matches this season.

Felda United meanwhile will continue relying on Irfan's man-management skills to motivate his players to get the required results and with the experience of old horses like Indraputra Mahyuddin and Shukor Adan around they could edge it over Kelantan for a place in the last eight.

Kelantan are a shadow of their former self but they still possess enough quality in their squad to reverse the form book.

Players like Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Badhri Radzi, Norfarhan Mohamad, Wan Zack Haikal, Wan Zaharulnizam and Fakri Saarani could deliver the goods on their day.

T-Team Titans are not expected to play other part than as spoilers in this group.

After losing influential figures like David Oniya who passed away in a friendly, ironically against Kelantan; and their topscorer, Farhod Tadjiev to a long term injury, The Titans simply fell apart.

They only managed to register three wins in their last ten matches and after leading the Premier League table found themselves pipped to the two promotion spots on the last day of the league season after losing to Kuantan FA in a must win battle.

GROUP D

This is a group where Pahang should reign supreme over the inconsistent Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and Premier League sides, Penang and PKNS FC.

The Elephants did the double over PDRM winning comfortably 5-3 in Shah Alam before registering a 1-0 win in Kuantan.

They also knocked out The Panthers in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win in the first leg seeing them through after Penang held them to a 2-2 draw in the second at The Bandaraya Stadium.

Thus it will be interesting to see who will get the second spot to the knock-out stage between PDRM, Penang and PKNS FC.

The last two meetings between PDRM and Penang were in the 2014 season when The Cops did the double over their opponent on their way to the Premier League title.

The most recent meetings between PDRM and PKNS FC happened in the 2011 season when the latter won both matches.

PKNS FC meanhile pushed Penang for promotion in this season Premier League campaign but dropping points against the likes of DRB Hicom and Sabah eventually saw their challenge faltered.

NAKAJIMA LATE STRIKE SEALS WIN FOR TURTLES

Issey Nakajima was the toast of Terengganu last night when his strike eight minutes from time sealed all three points for Terengganu against a physical Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) side.

Both teams were equal on points before kick-off but the home side started brightly with Nakajima testing PDRM goalkeeper, Badrulzaman Abdul Halim early on.

There were early chances too for defenders Helmi Remeli and Vincent Bikana from deadball situations but both of them failed to find the target.

PDRM players, with former Negeri Sembilan striker turned fullback, Shahurain Abu Samah in particular resorted to physical tactics in order to stop the Terengganu attacks at all cost.

It cost Terengganu their forward, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha who had to be substituted in the 25th minute after a heavy challenge he received from Shahurain early on with Fakhrurazi Musa taking his place.

Terengganu continued to create chances but their players could not hit the target or when they did, found Badrulzaman to be in good form.

After another foul, the referee Wan Mohamad Tarmizi Wan Ibrahim finally flashed the yellow card to Shahurain and his teammate, Mohamad Azrul followed suit a while later together with Bikana for fighting.

Then as the match about to reach the interval another heavy lunge by Shahurain, this time on Ismail Faruqi was deemed legal by Wan Mohamad Tarmizi who waved play on despite the protest by Terengganu players.

The first half theme continued in the second with Terengganu players failing to convert the chances they created.

One player who was really keen to show his stuff was Jaime Braganca who was almost a Terengganu player before The Turtles opted to sign Nakajima instead as the replacement for the injured Hassan Chaito.

Shahurain meanwhile continued to receive 'protection' from Wan Mohamad Tarmizi who should should have flashed a second yellow card to the player on at least two separate occasions.

Instead Wan Tarmizi seemed to be happier in showing the yellow apparatus to Terengganu players with Ismail Faruqi, Fakhrurazi, Helmi Remeli, Gustavo Lopez and Nakajima finding their names in the referee's book for petty fouls.

This did not go down well with the seven thousand plus crowd who started booing the referee and his officials who also seemed to be more lenient towards the visitors who continued to escape with more over the top tackles.

However, justice seemed to be done when Ashari Samsuddin played a one-two with Nakajima and dribbled the ball to the byline before cutting it back into the penalty area finding the Canadian international whose shot gave Badrulzaman no chance at all.

The stadium erupted with joy and relief and Terengganu held on for the rest of the match to win all three points and moved into fourth place.