Kelantan sure bet (The Malay Mail)

KELANTAN will definitely be represented in the FAM Cup final next month.
 Kelantan's JKR and TNB have qualified for the FAM Cup semifinals and
will meet each other for a place in the final.
 The battle on the terraces will be equally interesting as that on the
field as the supporters will be split in support of the two competing
teams, both Kelantan based.
 There will be no home ground advantage to speak of as both have been
playing their home matches at the Sultan Mohamed IV Stadium in Kota Baru.
 Kelantan JKR finished top in Group B while TNB were runners-up in Group
A.
 JKR, going by their performance against Kuala Lumpur Malay Mail, had
wanted to meet TNB rather than defending champions Malacca Telekom.
 Despite having qualified for the semifinal, they played their guts out
to earn a draw and thus top the group.
 That result left  Malay Mail who ended the group runners-up, the
daunting task of taking on the defending champions in the semifinal.
 Malay Mail took an early lead and were going all out for a win but JKR
came back strongly for the equaliser and defended stoutly to keep the
score level, so as to top the Group.
 TNB, on the other hand, had to dig deep into their reserves to hold
Terengganu Perkasa Alam to a 2-2 draw to pip them to the semifinals.
 Debutants Perkasa have indeed been going great guns and it is a pity
they were edged out.
 Perkasa needed to win, while TNB only needed a draw to book a semifinal
slot.
 Now with both JKR and TNB having to face each other in the semifinals,
the only consolation the home fans will have is that they are assured of a
Kelantan team in the final.
 JKR are coached by Awang Esa while TNB are coached by Kelantan's former
international Salim Mahmud.
 In the other semifinal, Telekom start as favourites as they attempt to
reach their fourth FAM Cup final.
 Telekom won the FAM Cup in 1994 and 1995 before they were denied a
hattrick by Johor FC in 1996. Last year, they failed to make the
semifinals and it was Armed Forces who won the championship beating Negri
Sembilan Chempaka.
 Telekom have a lethal striker in Ghana's youth international Issac
Kuffour who has been plundering at will. He has scored 21 goals in 14
matches.
 They also have an able defender in Uzbekistan defender Oleg Burov and
several calibre local players in P. Vinod, S. Manivanan, Manzoor Azwira
Abdul Wahid, Olaga Shankar, V. Sellathurai, Anuar Hassan to name a few.
 Telekom, however will not be having homeground advantage as the Kubu
Stadium is not available.
 They will now play their home match at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh as
Paroi Stadium is not available either.
 Malay Mail, on the other hand have nothing to lose.
 Having reached the semifinals in only their second season is indeed
commendable.
 They have a foreigner in defender Taso Notaras from Perth, Australia.
 They also have several experienced players in goalkeeper M. Pavalamani,
defenders K. Viajantheran, N. Suresh, S. Mathen, midfielders S.
Balachandran, S. Saravanan and striker K. Hemadass.
 They also have former KL youth players Mohd Imran Ahmad and N.
Ellangovan, while others like skipper Hasnul Ramlan Khairuddin, Azizul
Jamaluddin, Roshidi Ramli and Robert Maniam are all mainstayes of the
team.
 The odds may be stacked against Malay Mail, but their determined effort
might just see a surprise finalist.
 The first leg will be played on Oct 25 and the return leg on Nov 1.

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS
GROUP A
Sabah G'kod       1    M'cca Telekom   6
T'ggnu P. Alam    2    Kelantan TNB    2

GROUP B
Kelantan JKR      1    KL Malay Mail   1
Negri BSN         0    Kedah PKNK      1
                              (END)