NST Online: Sports

Football / Malaysia Cup: Big five back to boost Perak

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 11:45 AM PDT

2011/10/14
By Devinder Singh
devinder@nst.com.my

Perak's Akmal Rizal (centre) is expected to terrorise Selangor at Perak Stadium today.

IT will be a different Perak side which Selangor will face in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals return leg in Ipoh today as skipper Shahrulnizam Mustafa and striker Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli are set to start after returning from suspension.

The duo, along with teammates Nasril Nordin, Syazwan Roslan and Azmeer Yusoff, had their seven-match suspensions lifted by the FA of Malaysia on Monday and came on as substitutes in Perak's 3-1 defeat at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Coach Norizan Bakar is now set to throw caution to the wind and field Shahrulnizam and Akmal from the start as Perak look for the 2-0 win at the Perak Stadium which will send them into the semi-finals against either Negri Sembilan or Felda United.

The five players were originally only expected back if Perak reached the semi-finals but the lifting of the ban could not have been more timely, which came hours before the first leg but not soon enough for Norizan to include them in the starting line up.

But it was only when Shahrulnizam and Akmal came off the bench did Perak begin to pose a threat to Selangor and managed to pull a goal back through Failee Ghazli and give them a lifeline.

"We have no choice now but to win. The players must double their effort. What's happened is in the past and there is no use thinking about it.

"It is up to the players to make sure what they want is realised," said Norizan after the first leg.

Norizan is set to restore Shahrulnizam in the centre of midfield and pair Akmal with Failee, the striker who is on loan from Premier League side Universiti Sains Malaysia and has scored five goals in the Malaysia Cup.

Failee, the second highest scorer in the tournament after Kedah's Khyril Muhymeen Zambri (six), has impressed Perak officials so much that his loan stay will be made permanent along with Rafiuddin Roddin, who has been released by Young Tigers A.

This was confirmed by Perak FA president Datuk Zainol Fadzi Paharudin at the association's annual meeting earlier this month.

While Perak welcome back their key players, Selangor coach P. Maniam has to protect his side's lead without the suspended Bunyamin Umar who was sent off in the first leg for collecting two yellow cards.

Maniam, however, does not believe Bunyamin's absence will affect his side with Hardi Jaafar more than capable of filling the defensive midfielder's role.

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Tennis / Shanghai Masters: Murray lives to fight another day

Posted: 13 Oct 2011 11:42 AM PDT

Juan Carlos Ferrero lies on the court after missing a shot and falling in his third round match against David Ferrer at the Shanghai Masters yesterday. Ferrer won 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 — AFP picture

SHANGHAI: Defending champion Andy Murray survived a testing encounter with Stanislas Wawrinka to reach the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters yesterday as David Ferrer saved three match points to progress.

Second seed Murray, on a red-hot run of form of 21 wins from 22 matches coming into the clash against the Swiss 13th seed, won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 under the roof at the Qi Zhong Stadium.

The British player looked set for a straightforward victory after taking the first set but cut a frustrated figure as he conceded a break of serve in the second set as Wawrinka levelled the match with an ace.

Murray raced into a 5-0 lead in the decider as Wawrinka was warned by the umpire after smashing his racquet but despite a late wobble, he closed out the match and remains on course for a title clash against top seed Rafael Nadal.

Earlier, Spain's Ferrer edged into the last eight when he beat injured Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Third seed Ferrer won the all-Spanish tie 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 after a major fright in the 10th game of the second set, when he was forced to dig deep to hold serve and prevent Ferrero from sealing the win.

The win for Ferrer means he becomes the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals, featuring the world's top eight singles players over the year.

"I served very well in important moments," said the Spaniard, referring to how he saved the match points.

Speaking about qualifying for the season-ending showpiece, Ferrer said: "I think this season I have played really good tennis. I am very consistent. Maybe it is my best year of my career. I think so."

Injury-cursed Ferrero had strapping applied to his right ankle midway through the second set after a nasty tumble and although he recovered to force the match points, his challenge faded in the third set.

American 10th seed Andy Roddick reached the last eight after an impressive 6-3, 6-4 win over Nicolas Almagro, seeded seven, of Spain.

Roddick secured a single break in each set, wrapping up victory with his 11th ace in a controlled display that saw him make just 14 unforced errors.

Ukrainian 12th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov also reached the quarter-finals, beating Australian teenager Bernard Tomic while Japan's Kei Nishikori triumphed over Santiago Giraldo of Colombia.

l LONDON: Rafael Nadal will miss next year's Wimbledon warm-up event at Queen's Club and instead play at Halle in Germany, media reports said yesterday.

Nadal won Queen's in 2008 but will instead head for German grass, with the BBC reporting that the Spaniard's switch is linked to tax reasons but also the offer of a large appearance fee in Halle, his rival Roger Federer's own preferred Wimbledon tune-up.

Under British tax legislation, sports stars must pay a portion of tax on their worldwide endorsements, the proportion determined by how much time they compete in a year in Britain.

They must also pay around half of their appearance fee.

The British tax ruling also was a factor in sprint Olympic champion Usain Bolt skipping the London Diamond League meeting last year.

Reports said Nadal had been offered around E1 million (RM4.3 million) to play in Halle.

Queen's tournament director, Chris Kermode, says he hopes Nadal will return soon to the event. -- AFP

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Khamis, 13 Oktober 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

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