Malaysian football weekly Roundup + Preview

This week oversaw two top Malaysian side JDT and Pahang in action for AFC Cup Quarter-Final First Leg.

MSL champions, JDT disappointingly draw 1-1 against South China and it will be tough playing away at Mongkok. A mission impossible.

Meanwhile, the league runners-up Pahang were hammered 4-0 by FC Istiklol away at Dushanbe in which they played without the presence of Dickson Nwakaeme. Pahang do have a history of making a comeback even if it seems impossible, but despite that, to score more than 4 would be a little too much. Highly unlikely.

Over to the youth, President Cup 2015 final on Friday oversaw Kelantan beat Penang 2-1 at Bandaraya Stadium. Goals from Fakrul Zaman and Azwan Aripin led to the victory for The Red Warrior. The triumph means that Kelantan have won President Cup for a record of 6 times, more than any other team.

Special mention for the national youth side, Malaysia U19 or Harimau Muda C who have been impressive so far, beating Singapore U19 or Young Lions by 4-0 scoreline. They also managed to draw against Vietnam in 0-0 goalless draw in Vientiane.

On Saturday, Malaysia national team will face Bangladesh in Shah Alam Stadium in preparation for the World Cup Qualifying Round against UAE.

Also on the same day and time, FAM League final will be play between the recently promoted FAM League side, Malacca and Perlis at Hang Jebat Stadium, Malacca.

Not to mention, Malaysia U19 facing Myanmar U19 in Vientiane.

AFC Cup, Malaysia Cup play-off and AFF U19

After the end of MSL and MPL season, fans are pretty much turning their attention to AFC Cup Quarter Final with both JDT and Pahang involved. There is also Malaysia Cup play-off to determine the final two team for the competition. In the youth scene, Harimau Muda C currently compete in the AFF U19, with high expectation after months of preparation in Slovakia.

Mario Gomez will be facing his former team tonight, as JDT are looking for a strong lead in the first leg. After their recent success in the league, they are seeking for more on the more prestige tournament. The return of Marcos Antonio at the heart of defence will be huge boost for the home side.

NS Matrix will be a much fancied team to be in Malaysia Cup since they have larger fan base and has been around much longer than ATM. NS also recorded a better form compare to the relegated ATM. A win for the away side would be a likely result.

Sime Darby should be winning this despite their recent slump in the league. No one would fancy to see two JDTs in the same competition. This is the time to prove that they are worthy opponent in Malaysia Cup.

Malaysia v Singapore would be a mouth-watering clash if it's senior side due to the strong rivalry between the two sides. But on the youth level, this should be an easy one for the Harimau Muda C since there is such a clear distinction in the team's ability.  


Tonight

AFC Cup 2015 Quarter Final 1st Leg

JDT v South China

Malaysia Cup 2015 play-off

ATM v NS Matrix
Sime Darby v JDTII

AFF Cup U-19

Malaysia v Singapore

JDT won the 2015 Malaysia Super League title

JDT became the Malaysia Super League 2015 champions for the second consecutive time. -azhafizah.com

On the final day of the season, a massive travelling supporters witnessed JDT lift the Malaysia Super League trophy at Selayang.

The Southern Tigers in a high spirit against Felda United, hoping to end the season with a win and wrapped it up with a title celebration.

But Felda United clearly feel that they should not let JDT pass without a fight. The home side took the lead through a header from Shahrul Saad in the fourth minute. 

The match became even harder for the away side as they conceded a penalty and down to 10 men as Junior Eldstal was sent off after he brought down Ndumba Makeche in the penalty area.

Indra Putra scored the penalty to make it 2-0 for The Fighters and the scoreline stays until the half-time.

It is a huge advantage for Pahang to take the lead but The Elephant Army surprisingly struggle away to Terengganu as they were 1-0 down at half-time.

JDT managed to pulled one back as the match official awarded the away side a penalty after Christie Jayaseelan deliberately clear the ball with his hand. Luciano Figueroa made it 2-1 for the visitors but struggle to add another goal.

Pahang have the chances but unable to convert it into goals as they conceded another goal. Damion Stewart managed to equalise but Terengganu put the final nail in the coffin, scoring the third goal thus crushing the Pahang hope and this season title race, with the league title won by JDT for the second time in a row.

JDT and Pahang qualified for AFC Cup 2016.

ATM and Sime Darby are relegated to Malaysia Premier League 2016.

Dramane Traore of PDRM became the MSL top league goalscorer with 19 goals.

Hariss Harun became the first player to win Malaysia Super League for the third consecutive time, with LionsXII in 2013, with JDT in 2014 and 2015.

The overachiever- Terengganu

The underachiever- Kelantan

Full Results

Felda United 2-1 JDT
Terengganu 3-1 Pahang
Perak 0-2 Selangor
Kelantan 4-3 Sarawak
PDRM 3-2 ATM
LionsXII 3-0 Sime Darby

MSL Match Day 22: The penultimate

Here it is, the final day of Malaysia Super League season. Not much can be said since tonight might be a straightforward outcome to the season. Its been a two-horse race until today, between JDT and Pahang.

Once there was PDRM, Felda and Selangor in the title race. Now, JDT have two point advantage over their rival Pahang but there might be a twist to the title race.

Both team have to travel, JDT to Selayang to meet Felda United who managed to stop Pahang title charge at Kuantan last time.

While Pahang have to travel to meet the in-form Terengganu who beat PDRM in the previous game. Both have a tricky away game to begin with. Judging from the previous MSL season, both team are likely to win the game and JDT will win the title. There is no such event, yet, on how second place team came out on top and win the title. We will see how it goes and surely, it will be exciting to watch.

The rest of the team will play on the basis of completing the league fixtures, this include bottom team ATM and Sime Darby who were already confirmed their relegation to Malaysia Premier League next season.

Full matches

Felda v JDT
Terengganu v Pahang
Perak v Selangor
Kelantan v Sarawak
PDRM v ATM
LionsXII v Sime Darby

MPL Match Day 22 Roundup: The end of the season

The final day of MPL season saw Kedah celebrate as they were crowned Malaysia Premier League champions. A hat-trick from Sandro da Silva sealed their promotion to the Super League as they beat DRB-Hicom in emphatic 5-1 victory at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil.

T-Team unexpectedly lose 2-1 to struggling Kuantan thus missed out the promotion to MSL as Penang beat UiTM 2-0 and claim the final spot to the Super League.

At the end of the table saw Kuala Lumpur relegated to FAM League as they were beaten by NS Matrix 2-1 at Paroi while Kuantan dramatically escaped the drop as they beat the in-form T-Team 2-1 at home.

Kedah return to MSL after three year absence.

Penang return to the top flight after five years of misery.

SPA relegated to FAM League after two years.

Kuala Lumpur relegated to FAM League after spending just one year in MPL.

Full results

DRB-Hicom 1-5 Kedah
UiTM 0-2 Penang
Kuantan 2-1 T-Team
SPA 0-3 PKNS
NS Matrix 2-1 KL
Sabah 1-2 JDTII

Kedah won the 2015 Malaysia Premier League title

Kedah celebrates as they claim Malaysia Premier League 2015.- FAM

On the final day of the season, 12, 000 fans celebrated as they witnessed Kedah overcame DRB-Hicom 5-1 to lift the Malaysia Premier League trophy at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil.

Kedah took an early lead in the fourth minute through Sandro da Silva with a point blank range finish.

However, the referee awarded a penalty to the home side as their striker was brought down in a penalty area. Ivan Babic took the penalty and easily slotted the ball home to make it 1-1.

Chidi Edeh restored the lead two minutes later as he was put clean through and scored the goal with a tamed shot.

Sandro da Silva made it three for the visitors with his second goal of the game as he scored a fantastic free-kick from the edge of the box.

Chidi Edeh added his second of the game as he round past the keeper and scored with a simple finish to make 4-1.

Sandro da Silva rounded off the game with a hat-trick as he executed a successful overhead kick, confirming their status as Malaysia Premier League champions, delighted many fans in the stadium.

This also marked their return to the Malaysia Super League after three-year absence, alongside Penang FA.

MPL 2015 Match Day 22: The final preview

Kedah on the verge of  winning the 2015 MPL title- kedahfansclub.blogspot.com

It has been a great season so far in Malaysia Premier League with plenty of actions and drama. This should be one of the best MPL season since it is rare to see three teams battling for promotion on the final day as well two teams battling to avoid the relegation. Tonight will be the final day of the season. It is an important day especially for Kedah, who will be crowned the league champions if they beat DRB-Hicom at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil.

Both T-Team and Penang will desperately trying to came out on top as both team shared the league points and it might go down to the point of who will score more and with a better goal difference in the end that will be rewarded with a title promotion.

The title race surely is exciting, but lets not forget the one who are trying to survive from the relegation. After inexplicably lose to Kuantan in the last game, Kuala Lumpur have only one mission left, to win the last game. That is somehow, a daunting task since they will be playing against NS Matrix, a much-composed team than The City Boys. Kuantan is no different, and their task might be even harder since they are facing the promotion chaser T-Team. This might go down to who will concede less thus avoiding the drop in the end.

The favourites to win the title: Kedah

The favourites to get promoted to MSL: T-Team

The favourites to get relegated to FAM League: Kuantan

Full matches

DRB-Hicom v Kedah

Kuantan v T-Team

UiTM v Penang

NS Matrix v KL

Sabah v JDT II

SPA v PKNS

MSL Match Day 21 Roundup: The turning point

Six matches were played on Wednesday and plenty of actions as well as shocking results. The best match can be found at Kuantan where many witnessed Pahang failure to grab three points at home as they only managed to draw 2-2 against Felda United, thus providing the path for JDT to win the league title.

The Elephant Army have to wait until the second half to score and took the lead through Dickson Nwakaeme. However, Felda managed to pull one back through Thiago Fernandes, to the surprise of the home fans. To make matter worse, Thiago scored again through a header which Khairul Azhan failed to clear the ball that bounced past the keeper. Strong centre-back Damion Stewart managed to to equalise soon through a header but the home side unable to make use of the last 10 minutes to grab the vital winner.

JDT was convincing at Larkin, winning 4-1 against the depleted Perak. Goals from Nazrin Nawi, S. Chanturu, Luciano Figueroa and Safiq Rahim propelled JDT to the top of the table with two-point advantage over Pahang and putting The Southern Tigers in pole position to win the MSL title for the second time.

The relegation battle have officially ended as the already-relegated Sime Darby forced ATM to go back to the Malaysia Premier League since 2013 as they won with a narrow 1-0 win against The Gladiators, their first ever win of the season. A goal from the penalty spot by Nemanja Vidakovic condemned ATM towards the relegation.

Saturday will be the final league game and most importantly the title decider between Pahang and JDT. Both team face a tricky away game, with Pahang travelling to Terengganu while JDT visit Felda United in Selayang.

Full results

JDT 4-1 Perak
Pahang 2-2 Felda United
Selangor 3-0 Kelantan
Terengganu 1-0 PDRM
Sarawak 2-1 LionsXII
Sime Darby 1-0 ATM

MSL Match Day 21: A quick preview

Six matches due to play tonight with both Pahang and JDT desperately trying to win after both suffered a hiccup from the last game while ATM also searching for a win against the bottom place Sime Darby.

JDT v Perak

The Southern Tigers quickly wanted to forget their embarrassing defeat from the last game with a win tonight. Mario Gomez said he is going for a tactical changes, with Junior and Marcos at the centre of the defence, Jasazrin in the middle alongside Safiq Rahim and also some changes at the wings. JDT will be without Amri Yahyah who is suffering from injury, while Perak will travel without Idris Ahmad as well as Namkung Woong, Horace James and Charles Souza Chad.
The verdict: JDT win

Pahang v Felda United

Despite only managed to draw from the last game, Pahang is expected to play with their full strength at Kuantan and it will be a tough one for The Fighters. The verdict: Pahang win

Selangor v Kelantan

Both team struggled throughout the season, and have long out of the title race. Now they can only chase for the best placed finish in the league. It will be a huge advantage for the home side as The Red Warriors lose nine first-team players including Fakri Saarani, Amiridzwan Taj, Wan Zack Haikal through injuries while Hafiz Zamani Misbah, Noor Hazrul, Gilmar, Austin Amutu and Khairul Izuan all unavailable due to suspension. Zahasmi Ismail were forced to call up several President Cup players such as Qayyum Marjoni, Amir Zikri, Fakrul Zaman, Azwan Aripin and Wan Azam Mazlan to Shah Alam to fill up the first-team squad. The verdict: Selangor win or a draw

Sime Darby v ATM

A very important game for ATM, a win may keep them close to Sarawak, provided that Sarawak lose to LionsXII but a draw or defeat will seal their fate. The verdict: A likely draw. Sorry ATM, you are bound to go down sooner than later.

Full matches

JDT v Perak
Pahang v Felda United
Selangor v Kelantan
Terengganu v PDRM
Sarawak v LionsXII
Sime Darby v ATM

MPL Match Day 21 Roundup- KL fans goes berserk

KL fans were outraged by the results- utusan.com.my

Six matches were played on Tuesday with plenty of actions and shocking results between the top and the bottom of the table. The best match would be the league leaders Kedah wonderful comeback against Sabah.

The Red Hawk were twice trailed as the visitors took the lead through Joel Chianese before Sandro da Silva equalised through a spot kick. Joel Chianese added his second goal of the game, this time through a header past Abdul Hadi. Bang Seung-Hwan equalised again for the home side but they took until the 90th minute of the game to score the winner when Sandro da Silva whipped a free-kick which hit the barrier before the ball lobbed past the goalkeeper and managed to take all three points at home. The final league game for Kedah will be at Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil where they contested DRB-Hicom.

While T-Team trashed bottom place SPA with the scoreline of 7-0. Knowing that they need a large margin of goal difference to at least have the upper hand over their closest promotion rivals Penang, they are not holding back against SPA and managed to gain a high number of goals thanks to Tomislav Busic who scored five in a single match. This has placed T-Team in second place with higher goal difference than Penang.

Penang continued their form despite a nervous 2-1 victory over DRB-Hicom. Two goals from Hilton and Faiz Subri put them third in the table.

The relegation battle ended in such an incredible twist as Kuantan surprisingly beat Kuala Lumpur 2-0 at Merdeka Stadium. Goals from Hazwan Fakrullah and Fabrice Noel put The Seagull level with KL with only goal difference separated them. KL fans were outraged by the results and some of them threw a few flares towards the pitch making the game suspended for five minutes.

Full results

Kedah 3-2 Sabah

T-Team 7-0 SPA

Penang 2-1 DRB-Hicom

PKNS 4-1 UiTM

KL 0-2 Kuantan

JDTII 0-0 NS Matrix

MPL Match Day 21: A quick preview

The MPL title race resumed today with plenty of anticipated clash. With only games remaining, Kedah, Penang and T-Team battled out for the promotion followed by PKNS who have the outside chance.

Kedah v Sabah would be a mouth-watering clash if The Rhinos did not crumbled in the middle of the season thanks to their beloved captain El Haji Diouf. The home side would definitely feel pressured to maintain their league position after losing to NS Matrix previously, a bit of slip up and they might lose the chance. However, looking at the away side form, it should be an easy win for them.

Meanwhile, both Penang and T-Team desperately wanted to pick all three points since both team are sharing the same league points and are probably hoping for their tital rivals to falter.

At the end of the table saw the relegation battle where both KL and Kuantan currently sit at 10th and 11th place respectively met each other today. A win or a draw would be good enough for The City Boys but Kuantan needed a win to at least rival the point against KL.

Full matches

Kedah v Sabah
Penang v DRB-Hicom
T-Team v SPA
PKNS v UiTM
KL v Kuantan
JDTII v NS Matrix

MSL Match Day 20 Roundup

Six matches were played on Saturday and plenty of actions particularly in the pursuit of the league title. The best would be found in Kota Bharu where many witnessed league leaders JDT were torn apart by Kelantan in a shocking 4-1 defeat.

However, in the incredible twist, the second place Pahang who have a clear advantage to go top of the table by two points failed to do so when they only managed to draw against the out-of-form Perak. Pahang took an early lead through wonderful free-kick by Hafiz Kamal but a stunner from Bobby Gonzales prevent The Elephant Army from picking up all three points away in Ipoh.

As a result, both team shared 43 points and incredibly shared the same goal difference at +16. The only thing that separate the two sides is the goal scored where Pahang sitting top of the table followed by JDT.

An error pass from Ahmad Nordin Alias condemned the in-form Terengganu to their first league defeat in six games against Felda United at Selayang. Nordin tried to pass the ball to goalkeeper Sharmiza Yusof, but unaware of the presence of Ndumba Makeche from behind. Makeche saw the chance and lobbed the ball past the keeper to make it 1-0, the only goal of the game until the final whistle. Terengganu dropped to fifth in the table but shared the points with Felda who sit in fourth.

Selangor determined to beat LionsXII at Jalan Besar when they took the lead through Afiq Azmi who finally broke his goal drought in 59th minute. But The Red Giants were once again left disappointed as LionsXII scored the equaliser through Khairul Nizam and the scoreline stayed until the final whistle. Despite that, Selangor remain in third place while LionsXII remain in seventh.

The relegation battle between ATM and Sarawak saw them end with 1-1 draw. Abdulafees Salam put the The Gladiators in front, before debutant Tommy Mawat equalised for the away side. ATM remain in 11th, four points behind Sarawak who is in 10th.

While sixth place PDRM were held 1-1 by the bottom place Sime Darby.

Kelantan crush league leaders JDT as the title race goes on

Farhan celebrates the third goal as Kelantan beat JDT 4-1 at Kota Bharu.- asiana.my

Kelantan put a huge dent in JDT's title bid as the league leaders suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to The Red Warriors at Stadium Sultan Muhammad IV, Kota Bharu. A brace from Gilmar helped the home side to victory.

The Southern Tigers were expected to win and enjoy a large travelling crowd with 20 buses to Kota Bharu as they continue their charges towards the league title but that did not deter Kelantan from proving the league leaders wrong. After two defeats in a row against two East Coast side, they bounced back with a style.

Kelantan took only three minutes to lead the game after a low cross from Norfarhan met the hands of Farizal Marlias who fumbled the ball in front of Gilmar and easily slotted home to make it 1-0. 

The home side continue to press forward through NorFarhan, Gilmar, Amutu, Wan Zaharulnizam. They finally rewarded with another goal albeit in a controversial circumstances.

Gilmar put the ball through to Amutu who suddenly fell inside of the box and the referee ruled Amutu was fouled by Marcos Antonio and shown the spot kick.

Temper flares among the JDT players as well as their head coach Mario Gomez who was fuming with the referee's decision.

Piya keep it cool and scored the goal confidently past Farizal to make 2-0.
    
JDT have several chances to score as well only to let down by poor finishing and solid Kelantan defence at the back.

As the second half starts, JDT determined to get back into the game, and duly delivered when Mahalli Jasuli converted a corner through chaotic Kelantan defence, narrowing down the two-goal deficit to one. 

However, not even a minute after JDT scored, Kelantan quickly restored the two-goal lead when Norfarhan burst into JDT defence who unleashed the ball from outside of the box, scoring third goal of the game for the home side.

JDT desperately trying to score again despite poor in creating chances and finishing only to found themselves on the back foot as Kelantan once again in a delightful counter attack. 

Nor Farhan chipped the ball which found the unmarked Gilmar who scored with a stunning half-volley to the back of the net, putting the final nail in the coffin for JDT.

"I want to thanked to the fans for their support, I am especially delighted that we were able to win tonight," said Zahasmi Ismail.

"I hope we can continue to play this way for the next two games."

"The second goal was no penalty," said Mario Gomez, who suffered his first league defeat as JDT head coach.

"We must improve for the final two games."

While Pahang failed to capitalise the opportunities after only held 1-1 draw by Perak, sharing the league points and goal difference with their title rivals JDT , Pahang are back to the top of the league due to a massive difference in goal scored in the league.

Next game, JDT welcome Perak at Larkin while Pahang host Felda at Kuantan.

MSL Match Day 20: A Quick Preview

It is the 20th league match of the MSL season and it has been fascinating so far with the title race still very much in progress. This season could end as one of the best so far since MSL title race normally ends far earlier and there is nothing to see or excites the fans any more towards the end of the season. This season though, is different. Two teams JDT and Pahang at the top of the table have showed a difference in quality if compare to the rest. 

JDT boasts a solid display and great mentality which probably due to a great depth in their squad, having invested in quality local players while Pahang offers a fast and attacking style contributed by all of their foreign players who always performed when it matters as well as a plausible fitness regime, preventing their key players from getting injured.

Both only separated with one point, but have a massive 10 points difference with the third and fourth place, Selangor and Terengganu. Both hoping each other to slip up.

Tonight, JDT face a daunting task to hold on to their lead as they meet Kelantan at Kota Bharu. Though The Red Warriors are struggling, losing two games in a row against two East Coast side, Terengganu and Pahang, JDT have to be wary with Kelantan's home advantage. JDT also tend to perform poorly whenever travelling, winning only six games out of eleven. Kelantan currently 9th, and probably have nothing to fight for, but they may not entertain the idea of allowing JDT to win at their home ground. The verdict: A draw

Pahang have the similar task with fellow rival JDT, facing a tricky away trip to Ipoh. But it might be easier for The Elephant Army since Perak are currently in a bad run, losing five games in a row and have lost a total of eight first team players due to injuries. This include key players Namkung Woong, Charles Souza Chad, Horace James, Tuah Iskandar and Hisyamuddin Syaari. The verdict: Easy win for Pahang

Another interesting match is Felda v Terengganu, though it would be more interesting if both are still in the title race. The Turtles have won for six consecutive games, but tonight they will be without the services of Zubir Azmi who is suspended, Gustavo Lopez and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha due to injuries. The verdict: A draw would be sufficient

LionsXII have always performed well at home and expected them to continue against Selangor. Although The Red Giants are currently unbeaten in four league matches, they have never beat the Lions away from home, not since their establishment in 2012. The verdict: Lions win 

At the end of the table, ATM are hoping for a win against Sarawak even though it seem far-fetched due to their eight winless run. This is the game where ATM have to perform if they really determine to avoid from relegation at the end of the season. The verdict: A draw would be good enough

Full matches

LionsXII v Selangor  TV9
Kelantan v JDT TV3
Perak v Pahang  TV1
Felda v Terengganu
ATM v Sarawak
PDRM v Sime Darby

MPL Match Day 20 Roundup

Five games were played yesterday with the exception of SPA v Kuantan who scheduled to play today since Stadium UiTM was used by UiTM FC to play against T-Team. The best match would be the Penang convincing victory over Sabah by a margin of 4-0.

T-Team suffered a blow to their promotion chances when they only managed to draw 2-2 against UiTM. Sadriddin Abdullaev scored both goals for the Titans yet not enough to gain a crucial three points as they gave clear advantage to Penang to level on point. 

The Panther saw the chance and took it with style. The home side proved to strong for Sabah as goals from Elias Sulaiman, Faiz Subri and a brace from Azinee Taib condemned The Rhinos to seven games without a win. This mean Penang are currently in second place, levelled on point with T-Team with only one goal difference.

While the league leaders Kedah suffered a 2-0 defeat to NS Matrix at Paroi. Goals from Forkey Doe and N. Thanabalan ensured The Red Hawk to their only second defeat of the season since March. Regardless of the result, they remain top of the table with only three points separated from Penang and T-Team.

The struggling Kuala Lumpur beaten 2-1 to JDTII and might be in danger if Kuantan managed to win against SPA. The only way to save themselves from relegation is to win the final two games, also involving relegation rival, Kuantan.

Full result

Penang 4-0 Sabah
NS Matrix 2-0 Kedah
UiTM 2-2 T-Team
JDTII 2-1 KL  
DRB-Hicom 1-1 PKNS

Today

SPA v Kuantan

MPL Match Day 20 Preview: A quick preview

Today is the 20th Match Day of the Malaysia Premier League season, with only two games remaining. Kedah pretty much leading the table and almost certain for the coveted league title as well as promotion to the Super League with 42 points so far, four points difference to the second placed, T-Team followed by Penang in third while PKNS have an outside chance for promotion.

Kedah playing away at Paroi tonight against the seventh-placed NS Matrix. The Red Hawk currently unbeaten in 12 matches, while the home side have lost twice in a row so far. Despite the unbeaten record, Kedah will be playing without the services of captain Khairul Helmi Johari and Syazwan Tajudin as both are suspended from the match. The verdict: Due to the recent defeats, Negeri Sembilan might fancy a draw tonight.

Penang will welcome the out-of-form Sabah, desperately for three points today in order to put pressure over the second-placed T-Team. The Panthers who won a narrow 1-0 win over NS Matrix in the previous match and currently unbeaten in 3 matches is expected to continue with the impressive trio Hilton, Azinee Taib and Faiz Subri. 

While Sabah have nothing to chase any more this season after winless in 6 matches that resulted a slip up from first to sixth placed means their title bid is all but over. The Rhinos might even make things easier for the home side as they set to play without all their foreign players with the controversial El Haji Diouf suspended, while Abdoulaye Faye, Joel Chianese and Eamon Zayed all due to injury. The Verdict: Penang all the way

T-Team set to continue their unbeaten run as they visit 9th placed UiTM in Shah Alam. The Titans should have no trouble as they must collect the maximum points in order not to lose their place to the third-placed Penang. The only setback for them is the absence of the star striker Farhod Tadjiev who unable to play due to ACL injury. The Verdict: T-Team to win

Full MPL matches

DRB-Hicom v PKNS

UiTM v T-Team

SPA v Kuantan FA

JDTII v KL

NS Matrix v Kedah

Penang v Sabah

Malaysia to bid 2034 FIFA World Cup

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said Asean sports ministers have expressed support to Malaysia's initiative to conduct immediately a study on the possibility of being host to the quadrennial global footballing event.

"I would like to stress here that the agreement is not for us to make a bid to host the World Cup, but to study whether a bid is feasible or not, which will be conducted by the Asean Football Federation (AFF).

"Once the study is done, we will forward the result to our respective governments, through our football associations, to decide whether we should form a joint committee for the bid," he told a a press conference today after the Third Asean Ministerial Meeting on Sports (AMMS-3).

Khairy said they hoped to complete the feasibility study by next year, and come up with the joint committee then.

He explained that they have to forward any bidding documents to FIFA by 2019 to stand any chance of playing host.

Khairy added that the cost to put in a bid is still yet unclear as it will mainly depend on how many of the Asean nations will be hosting the event.

"We have to take into account other factors as not all the countries will play host.

"For 10 countries to host may not be accepted by FIFA. I was made to understand that FIFA may consider having four nations as host," he added. -Bernama

Malaysians have a dream. A big dream. To watch their national team playing in the most prestigious sports competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup.  For years they have been trying to progress through a series of qualifiers in order to compete on the biggest stage. This of course, have never became a reality, not even once. Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) have long been criticised by fans for the ultimate failure, mainly accused for being incompetent, obsolete and lack of proper progress in terms of professional leagues and the development of youth.

Not to mention the poor performance by the senior national team whenever the team played in an important match such as World Cup or Asian Cup qualifier which the only way for the team to progress is to win and collect as many points as possible, something Malaysia failed to do all this time.

The world ranking also played the role in setting up the path for the national team in World Cup qualifications whether its going to be easy or a difficult one. Normally, the higher the ranking, the better the pot you will get and in this case, the easier the matches or the group will be with the high possibility of collecting more points against a much lower ranking teams, or roughly said, a much weaker opponents. This is something that FAM surprisingly have yet to realize and even at one point, played down the importance of ranking. Remember the phrase 'ranking is not important?'

Malaysia highest world ranking is 75th in 1993, a year before the match-fixing scandals were exposed and the lowest is 170th in 2008, a year after participating in the Asian Cup as a co-host nation.  Now? Malaysia currently in 168th, few months after playing in the 2014 AFF Cup final, losing to Oman 6-0, draw 1-1 against Timor Leste and losing 6-0 for the second time, this time to Palestine.

There are talks on how to improve the national team, that includes naturalizing a foreign player. If according to the Article 17: Acquisition of a new nationality, it seems feasible enough to recruit some of the foreign footballers who have played long enough in Malaysia and good enough to play for the national team. However, this have never been materialised.

Some views naturalizing foreigners as unpatriotic and damaging the national pride despite the fact that there are many other countries have done it without any shame and without any trouble. The reluctance of the previous FAM President, Sultan Ahmad Shah to allow foreigners in the national team might also contributed to the current state of the national team. Former FAM General Secretary, Dato' Ibrahim Saad recently revealed how FAM are very much interested with the idea of naturalization, but since the president disagreed, they stopped the project immediately.  

Other reasons include the lack of professionalism, poor league schedule, the lack of interest in youth development. Recently, National Football Development Programme (NFDP) was launched with a strategy of developing Malaysian footballers from the age of 13 until 17 under the stewardship of Lim Teong Kim, the former Bayern Munich youth coach. Their mission is clear, to qualify for the World Cup U-17, World Cup U-20, and most importantly to groom them to be the future Malaysian footballers playing abroad, subsequently improved the senior national team.

This seemed realistic, but why after all this, Malaysia suddenly wants to bid as a host for the World Cup?  Are you trying to take a short-cut by qualifying automatically as a host nation? Why not qualified properly instead of taking a short-cut? Or do you already think that NFDP will be a failure? How is qualifying through as a host nation any better than deservedly qualified through result and performance? Do you know how bad the state of Ringgit currency right now?

P.S.- Naturalized cannot, but bid for World Cup can. So shameless.

The Highlights: MSL Match Day 19

Pahang 5-3 Kelantan

Terengganu 2-1 Perak

JDT 1-0 LionsXII

Selangor 3-2 ATM

Sime Darby 1-1 Sarawak

PDRM 1-0 Felda

MSL Match Day 19 Roundup: A short review

Five league matches played with the exception of the clash between PDRM and Felda who played a day earlier, plenty of actions throughout and the best one would be Pahang beating Kelantan at Darul Makmur Stadium, which produced eight goals in the process. Interestingly, Pahang goalscorer consist of five different players while Norfarhan became the only Kelantan scorer as he bagged a hat-trick in what would be a thrilling contest.

In Larkin, the league leaders JDT struggled to score against the stubborn LionsXII side. The only goal of the game came in the 55th minute through Luciano Figueroa. Nonetheless, the hard fought victory are vital to the Southern Tigers, keeping them at the top of the table, one point clear from title rival Pahang.

Terengganu continued their impressive form with 2-1 win at home over the hapless Perak side. First half goals from Ismail Faruqi and Issey Nakajima Farran was enough for the Turtles to make it six win in a row. Terengganu now in sitting fourth in the table. While Bobby Gonzales would probably delighted to return to the first-team and scored the only goal for Perak, that means the Bos Gaurus have lost for a total of five consecutive league matches. Perak currently in 8th, with 27 points.

Selangor are back to winning ways after 3-2 victory over relegation-threatened ATM. The Red Giants took the lead in the first half through a spot-kick scored by Guilherme De Paula before Abdulafees Salam scored the equaliser just before half time. Selangor took the lead again in the second half through Hazwan Bakri before Shahrom Kalam added the third for the home side. The away side managed to score in the injury time through Shukor Jusoh, but it was a little too late. Selangor now in third with 32 points while ATM remain at the bottom two with only 10 points.

Sarawak rued missed chance to take all three points away from home after a disappointing 1-1 draw against the relegation-bound Sime Darby. The Crocs took the lead through Billy Mehmet in the first half but the home side managed to equalise in the second half through Perovic, missing the chance to distance away from ATM. Sarawak currently 1oth with 15 points while Sime Darby deep rooted at the bottom with only 5 points.

Goals galore as Pahang beat Kelantan in a thrilling encounter

the-afc.com

East Coast derby lived up to expectations as Pahang beat Kelantan 5-3 in a thrilling encounter at Darul Makmur Stadium. It was an important win for The Elephant Army as they bounced back from a rare defeat against LionsXII previously that resulted a slip up to the second placed in the table. Strong performance proved how they have yet to give up in the race to win the Super League title with only three games remaining.

Pahang were without Azidan Sarudin and Azam Azih while Kelantan travelling without Gilmar, Nik Shahrul Azim, Fakri, Zairul Fitree due to injury and Amiridzwan Taj who is suspended.

With not much focused on the defence, Pahang managed to score with five different goalscorer while Norfarhan Mohamad scored a hattrick for Kelantan but unable to prevent his side from the defeat.

Pahang took an early lead in the 7th minute when R. Gopinathan crossed the ball from the left-hand side of midfield towards Matias Conti who only hit the right woodwork before R. Surendran pounced on the rebound to make it 1-0. 

Pahang doubled the lead in less than a minute after a cross from R. Surendran from the right midfield met the unmarked Dickson Nwakaeme who headed the ball easily past Khairul Fahmi.

Kelantan narrow down the gap to one when Razman Roslan who robbed the ball from Austin Amutu but failed to clear it properly punished by the marauding winger Farhan Mohamad who hit the ball off Razman's leg and it lobbed past Khairul Azhan.

It all looked like Kelantan have a chance for equaliser until Gopinathan whipped a corner which met Matias Conti who scored with an accurate header just before the half time to make it 3-1.

As the second half resumed, Kelantan nightmare continues as Zesh Rehman added another goal for the home side with a flying header, assisted by R. Surendran in the 55th minute.

Kelantan clawed back in the game in the 70th minute through Norfarhan Mohamad who added his second goal of the game through a cross from outside of the box and headed the ball past Khairul Azhan who misjudged the ball to make it 4-2.

To make matter more difficult for Kelantan, Khairul Izuan was sent off just few minutes later for a deliberate tackle towards the opponent.

The comeback were almost on the card for Kelantan when Azamuddin Akil tackled Austin Amutu inside the penalty box. Norfarhan completed a hat-trick after he converted the spot-kick with ease to make it three for his side.

With so little time remaining, Dickson found himself dribbling the ball towards Kelantan defence and crossed it to the centre which met the unmarked Azamuddin who scored the fifth goal for Pahang, burying all the hopes that Kelantan have for an equaliser. 

Pahang currently with 42 points, just one point behind JDT. Kelantan remain in ninth placed, with 22 points.

Next game on Aug 15th, 2015: Perak v Pahang, Kelantan v JDT

Highlights:

MSL 2015 Match Day 19 Preview

  

  It is the 19th league games of the season, with only three more games to go. Prior to today's league games, several things has happened in the past few days, most notably the experienced coach M. Karathu who was 'rested' by Perak after four straight defeats that saw the Bos Gaurus gone from third in the league to the lowly 8th. Bear in mind, despite Perak sudden slump, there is only four-point difference to the current third-placed, PDRM. This is also the second managerial changes from Perak after an odd departure of Vjeran Simunic before the league even started. M. Karathu joined the long list of the MSL head coaches who was either rested or sacked midway through the league campaign. This means the assistant coach Abu Bakar Fadzim will take charge of the first-team until the end of the season, just like last season.

  Only five matches will be played today since both PDRM and Felda already played yesterday, probably due to the fact that PDRM and Selangor currently shared Shah Alam Stadium and somehow they happened to have home game on the same day so one of them have to give up and play on different day. Nonetheless, PDRM won by a narrow 1-0 win scored by the league top goalscorer Dramane Traore.

  There are two highly-anticipated games today, the meeting of two East Coast side which widely called as the East Coast derby and another one is the Causeway derby, this if you want to consider it a valid derby. 

   Kelantan who recently defeated at home by another East Coast side, the in-form Terengganu, today will meet the wounded Pahang who was defeated by LionsXII, thus losing their place at the top of the table to the fellow title rival JDT after 12 unbeaten run. Despite that, there is only one-point gap at the top of the table and they still have a chance to return to the top today. Kelantan will not be travelling to Kuantan with several key players including Gilmar, Fakri, Nik Shahrul Azim, Zairul Fitree due to injury and Amiridzwan Taj due to suspension. Pahang will be playing without the services of Azidan and Azam Azih due to injury. The verdict: Pahang win, Kelantan may have an outside chance if Carrillo doesn't messed it up. 

  To the Causeway, high-spirited LionsXII travel to Larkin seeking for a point after encouraging performance against league leaders Pahang. It would be a difficult encounter since the Southern Tigers are invincible at home and incredibly, they have yet to lose a single home game this season. This probably one of the reason why they are currently top of the table. Despite struggling to score against the relegation-threatened ATM, many would expect JDT to deliver a strong performance this time because if not Pahang might return to the top once again. Ugly win or not, it is a must-win game.

The verdict: JDT win  

  Other matches that are less worth to mention includes Selangor who once at certain point are top of the league until they were beaten by JDT and Pahang, now fourth placed and have 11-point gap with the league leaders JDT. Today should be an easy win for them..that will happen if they take it seriously against ATM, who have installed four different head coach yet unable to improve and remained at the bottom together with Sime Darby.

   Meanwhile the depleted Perak side travel away against the in-form Terengganu. It is a quite ironic clash, judging from how Perak have lost four times in a row while Terengganu are on the roll, winning five consecutive matches. With Issey Nakajima Farran and Bikana currently on form, it will be a very difficult game for Perak. However, things might get a little bit different with Abu Bakar in charge.

  The last one is the relegation battle between Sime Darby and Sarawak, even though the relegation for Sime Darby seems imminent. This game are rather an important one for Sarawak, with only four points from safety. Most likely a draw or a win for Sarawak.

MSL Tonight

Pahang v Kelantan

JDT v LionsXII

Terengganu v Perak

Selangor v ATM

Sime Darby v Sarawak

M. Karathu, the latest MSL managerial casualties

  

   
There are just three league games left, but PAFA decided that they can't wait any more and 'rest' (a popular vocabulary in Malaysian football nowadays) the fan favourites and experienced coach M. Karathu for two weeks (don't ask me why its two weeks). The most probable reason would be due to the four defeats in a row. That also means Perak who was once third in the league are now sitting at 8th-placed in the table.

The first-team will be takeover by the assistant coach Abu Bakar Fadzim and will be in charge until the end of the season.

  He joined the long list of many other MSL head coaches including B. Sathianathan, Bojan Hodak, George Boateng, Azraai Khor, Haji Abdul Rahman and Robert Alberts who have received a similar fate, getting rested, immediate termination or resigned from their respective teams.   

P.S.- M. Karathu, B. Sathianathan, Bojan Hodak, George Boateng and Azraai Khor all are former Kelantan head coach.