Gambang Sports School Under-15 coach P. Somasundram was not complaining after their scoreless draw on Saturday against SMK Putera in Kota Baru in the Ministry of Education League Cup Under-17 Premier League.
As he pointed out after the game, it was better to win one point than losing all three especially when they were playing against the league leaders.
“We know that we need to be defensive in Kota Baru as we were playing against the league leaders. So of course, we are satisfied with the one point. It is better than losing all three,” said Somasundram.
“For us, we are looking at playing the game at a higher level as we are concentrating for international level tournaments. We need to be competitive for the AFF U16 Championship in August and also the AFC qualifiers in September.
“And the Liga KPM is very competitive as we are an U15 team playing against U17 boys who are physically bigger and stronger. But the pressure is good and that is what we need.”
Following the one point won on the weekend, the Gambang Sports School U15 team is currently placed fourth at the standings behind SMK Putera, SMK Seberang Temerloh from Pahang and also SMK Tun Hussein Onn of Johor.
From the six matches played, Gambang U15 have picked up 11 points from three wins, two draws and one loss.
On the other hand Rizalman Hassan, the head coach of SMK Putera, was not at all satisfied with the outcome.
“Of course, I am not satisfied with the result because we could not find the back of the net. We created three good chances which we should have finished things off but we did not,” added Rizalman.
“But the players showed their commitment and that was important. We are looking to win the Premier League for a chance to play in the quarter-finals.”
With SMK Putera frustrated at home, second-placed SMK Seberang Temerloh grabbed the chance to close the gap on the leaders when they thrashed SMK Tun Hussein Onn 4-0.
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In the game that saw five yellow cards and also a red being flashed, the visiting SMK Seberang Temerloh side scored through Muhammad Zulhisyam (16th and 37th minute), Muhammad Khairuddin Mat Yaman (45th) and Muhammad Alif Iskandar Abdullah (51st).
The win allowed SMK Seberang Temerloh to stay second with four points adrift of the leaders but with a game in hand.
In the meantime in the Super League, leaders SMK Za’ba of Negeri Sembilan had to battle all the way to the end before they were able to hold SMK Syed Hassan of Perlis to a 1-1 draw.
It was SMK Syed Hassan who went ahead early in the 13th minute through Mohammad Nafis Roshid before SMK Za’ba fired in an 80th minute equalizer off Muhamad Farhan Mohd Shahrin.
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.
UNDER-17 RESULTS
SUPER LEAGUE
SMK Syed Hassan (PERLIS) 1
SMK Za’ba (NEGERI SEMBILAN) 1
Gambang Sports School (U16) 1
SMK Bukit Nenas (TERENGGANU) 4
SMK Mutiara Impian (PENANG) 0
SMK Seksyen 11 (SELANGOR) 0
Bukit Jalil Sports School (U16) 2
SMK Tunku Anum (KEDAH) 1
PREMIER LEAGUE
SMK Putera (KELANTAN) 0
Gambang Sports School (U15) 0
SMK Tun Hussein Onn (JOHOR) 0
SMK Seberang Temerloh (PAHANG) 4
SMK Gunung Rapat (PERAK) 1
SMK Seri Kota (MELAKA) 1
SMK Seri Titiwangsa (KUALA LUMPUR) 0
Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School (U15) 0
