Former champions SMK Kulim of Kedah had to went through contrasting emotions on the first day of the 100PLUS Super Cup when they suffered a win and then a loss to put their hope of a place in the next round in jeopardy.
The northerners had begun their campaign in the morning with a close 1-0 win over Selangor’s SMK Tinggi Kajang with Muhammad Nur Akmal delivering the winner early in the 22nd minute with an opportunistic strike from the edge of the box.
But in the afternoon, SMK Kulim failed to maintain the momentum when they fell to a 3-0 loss to SMK Tinggi Setapak of Kuala Lumpur off goals from Muhammad Fakhrul in the 23rd minute, Muhammad Fa’es Hafize Mohd (27th) and then Mikail Mazleen (38th).
“It is certainly an eye opener but since we have another match tomorrow, we can only let the players have a good rest ahead of their final game in the group (against SMK Perkasa of Perak),” said Husin Mat Husin, the head coach of SMK Kulim, whose team had won the 100 Super Cup crown back in 2011.
“We played well in the morning but somehow, we just collapsed in the afternoon. It has been a day of mixed emotions really but we are still hopeful that the boys will pick themselves up and win their final game in the group to make the quarter-finals.”
With Kedah having picked up just three points in the group, SMK Tinggi Setapak currently lead Group D with four points following their win over the former and also their scoreless draw against SMK Perkasa of Perak in the afternoon.
In the meantime, it is not only SMK Kulim who suffered period of anxiety where another former winners SMK Guar Perahu of Pulau Pinang also failed to win both their matches in Group C.
After blasting SMK Sultan Sulaiman of Terengganu 4-0 in the morning, SMK Guar Perahu went limped in the afternoon when they were held to a 1-1 draw by SMK Tunku Ampuan Durah of Negeri Sembilan.
SMK Guar Perahu were the champions back in 2003.
The MELC and 100PLUS Super Cup are among several youth programmes and competitions supported by 100PLUS, Malaysia’s leading isotonic beverage.
The others include the 100PLUS Malaysian Junior Golf Open and the 100PLUS National Junior Badminton Circuit. 100PLUS is recommended by the National Sports Council.
PHOTO CAPTION
SMK Kulim (in all white) against SMK Tinggi Kajang (in blue / black)
RESULTS
MORNING
SMK Kulim (Kedah) 1
SMK Tinggi Kajang (Selangor) 0
SMK Tinggi Setapak (Kuala Lumpur) 0
SMK Perkasa (Perak) 0
SMK Sultan Sulaiman (Terengganu) 0
SMK Guar Perahu (Pulau Pinang) 4
SMK Putrajaya Presint 14(1) (Putrajaya) 0
SMK Kg Chengal (Kelantan) 1
SMK Bukit Rambai (Melaka) 4
SMK Syed Alwi (Perlis) 2
AFTERNOON
SMK Perkasa (Perak) 0
SMK Tinggi Kajang (Selangor) 1
SMK Kulim (Kedah) 0
SMK Tinggi Setapak (Kuala Lumpur) 3
SMK Guar Perahu (Pulau Pinang) 1
SMK Tunku Ampuan Durah (Negeri Sembilan) 1
