We arrive again to the duel of the last eight of Malaysian Cup. Eight Malaysian top notch clubs will meet in the first leg of first knockout round. Selangor, Felda United, Perak , Sabah , T-Team , Kelantan and Terangganu survived the grouping stage held last month. The knock out stage structure is shown below:
International Duty
The knockout round was previously scheduled on 8th October . However was later postponed by FAM to allow International fixture against Australian National team which was held on 7th October at Canberra Staduim , Australia. The team traveled back to Malaysia on 8th and was given a day rest before resuming final training with club team before the quarter final clash. Hence , players represented Malaysia would be vulnerable to fatigues . The club team managers will have a horrid time planning their squad.
However, comparing to top European clubs, Malaysian clubs were barely affected by the International Fixture. With Rajagopal leaving few key player behind, only few player who should feature in the Malaysian Cup Quarter Final traveled to Australia. From 23 man squad versus Australia only these player actually made it to the field.
- Mohd Asraruddin Putra Omar (Selangor)
- Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Kelantan)
- Joseph Kalang Tie ( Terengganu)
- Zubir Azmi (Terengganu)
- Mohd Norhafiz Zamani Misbah (Negeri Sembilan)
- S.Kunanlan (Negeri Sembilan)
- Mohd Farizal Marlias (Negeri Sembilan)
It seems teams like T-Team , Perak , Sabah and Felda United might be benefiting from the international fixture . Negeri Sembilan might be suffering the most as their key players, Zamani Misbah and Kunanlan played all 90 minutes.
Felda United vs Negeri Sembilan
The Azrai boys will be visiting the Elavarasan boys at Stadium MPPJ. As the group champions , Negeri Sembilan will have the advantage to play first leg on away ground and the deciding leg at home. Felda on the other hand is known for their convincing home runs despite not having an actual home ground. They beat Kelantan 2-0 impressively at Stadium Selayang in the grouping stages. Felda has a solid defensive team who always attacks trough pace in the counter attack. However against an attckign firepower like Hasmawi Hassan, Kunanlan and Fakri Saarani, defending deep would be suicidal if not done perfectly.
Sabah vs T-Team
The mighty T-Team will be traveling to Stadium Likas in Sabah . A rather experience squad which unites many former Malaysian Natinal Team players and other experienced player will be facing Sabah which has recently reborn under Gary Phillips. However , Gary Phillips was later replaced by Justin Ganai. T-Team will be relying on Indra Putra in attack.The veteran striker has been productive in attack so far for the eastern club. T-Team is considered the best attacking team in this campaign with scoring 15 goals so far.
Selangor vs Perak
The only team remaining unbeaten will be travelling to Shah Alam to take on Selangor. Having all players ready and rested since the even before final grouping game, Perak is likely to run riot at Shah Alam Stadium. The likes of Shafiq Jamal and Akmal Rizal will be dueling with a vurnerable Slengor defense. However, the new management in the Red Giant saw a new hope for Selangor. P.Maniam impressively leading Selangor to a new life in Malaysian Cup. Norizan Bakar have only have two games to observe the playing style of Maniam . The last game of Selangor vs Kuala Lumpur saw a very highly spirited Selangor side. IF this remains , it will he harder for Perak to tame the Red Giants
Terrenganu vs Kelantan
Might be considered by many as the match of the day. Quite possibly could have been a great final, but the clash of these two eastern giants so early might spark the rest of the campaign. Terengganu beat Kelantan in the FA Cup final in their last meeting in June. Hence this will be the perfect chance for revenge for the Red Warriors. Stadium Sultan Ismail is expected to be full with both supporters. However the move by the authorities to raise the ticket price raised question among fans. Many blasted the authorities for taking advantage of a big clash to make more money. But many fans didn’t realize that all other stadiums in Malaysia has raised thier ticket price a long time ago.
TV Coverage
ASTRO ARENA )801) : Selangor vs Perak : Live from Stadium Shah Alam @ 8:00 PM
RTM 1 (101) : Teregganu vs Kelantan : Slight Delay, giving way to news Telecast : @9:00 PM
FOOTYCRITIC 