Bloxsara

i posted an entry about this tournament some time ago.. and i’ve been meaning to post an update but somehow did not get around to doing it…

anyway, the tournament kicked off two weeks ago on the 3rd. six Ansara teams are participating in the tour. K.Behrang, K.Trengganu, PDRM, Muar, Jasin, and Kuantan. 4 teams played in the first week. the first two matches produced quite a few surprises too.

first surprise of the tournament.. Kuantan’s impressive victory over K.Behrang. the win was not the surprise, though. it’s the number of goals scored which was the surprise. Kuantan, expected to win after roping in ‘star’ players from all around the league, trashed K.Behrang - scoring a total of 9 goals. by half time, they were already ahead by 6 goals. looks to me.. Kuantan is taking Liga-A really serious this time around. a sign of progress for Ansara teams?

the second surprise comes in the form of the youngest Ansara player to score in an official Ansara soccer tournament. you could say, he is KT’s very own ‘Wayne Rooney’. fresh from completing his SPM, the 17 year old Hakim scored in his debut game with KT. i didn’t personaly see his game, but i hear he’s quite a talent. KT will certainly have a more potent strike force with him around. to the other first division teams in Liga-A, especially the defenders, be aware of this young talent from KT should he be included in the line-up for Liga-A.

Results from January 3:

Kuantan 9 - K.Behrang 0

K.Trengganu 2 - PDRM 2

the second week was also a high scoring week. though not to the extent of 9 goals in a game, a total of 8 goals were scored in the two games which was played. both games ended with a 3 -1 score line. Muar winning against K.Behrang, and PDRM winning against Jasin. i can’t comment much on the Jasin game since i was at the Muar vs K.Behrang game. i did, however, have a brief chat with Jasin’s manager, Najib, after the game. what we chatted about, is a different thing altogether.. heheh..

the Muar vs K.Behrang game is the first game, after the 2003 season, for the Muar team. it is my intention to use this tournament to gauge the players’ fitness level and also experiment with a few new players. since it was the first time i got the players together, i didn’t really expect much from them. as a matter of fact, it wouldn’t have mattered to me too much, if the team lost this first game.

however, to my surprise, the team played exceptionally well - for the first 3/4 of the match. fitness, as expected, is the main thing missing from the players. apart from that, i’d say the team just need more playing time together, and of course a game plan.

K.Behrang did not field their Liga-A players in this tournament. the team playing in this tournament for them is a totaly different team altogether - their backup team perhaps?

both teams started the game aggressively, though Muar had more possession time. the first 15 minutes saw Muar making and creating numerous goal scoring chances while K.Behrang relied on counter attacks. Muar finally broke the deadlock in the 17th minute with a goal by the team captain, Fadli. K.Behrang, as if awaken by the goal, started to push forward in search of an equalizer. from then on, the game became a little more balanced as both the teams settled down and played to their strengths. K.Behrang missed a few good equalizing chances along the way. on the other hand, Muar too, missed a few golden chances to add more goals. then, on the 30th minute, Muar strikes goal once again. this time it’s the central defender, Epol, who slotted in the goal. off a move from the right hand side, Epol managed to squeeze the ball pass K.Behrang’s keeper for his first goal of the season and Muar’s second goal. at half time, Muar was up by two goals. finally, a goal by Din Bulat in the first ten minutes of the second half killed whatever hopes K.Behrang had of making a comeback. their only goal came late in the second half when their speedy striker managed to beat an offside trap. however, the goal was a little too late for K.Behrang and the game ended with Muar winning 3 goals to 1.

Results from January 10:

Muar 3 - K.Behrang 1

Fadli (1 goal)

Epol (1 goal)

Den Bulat (1 goal)

Jasin 1 - PDRM 3

Upcoming fixtures - January 17:

Muar vs Kuantan (@ UPM A)

Jasin vs K.Trengganu