NST Online: Sports

Football / EPL: Dangerous ground<br><small>Devils face Anfield hoodoo</small>

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:17 PM PDT

Battle of the Bravehearts. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will try to outdo his Scottish counterpart Kenny Dalglish of Liverpool today at Anfield.

LIVERPOOL: Manchester United head to Liverpool today for a significant test of Sir Alex Ferguson's team's improved away form.

United won a record 19th league title last season — moving ahead of Liverpool's tally of 18 — despite their worst away record since the start of the Premier League.

They have improved that in the current campaign, with two wins and a draw from their three away games, with a 1-1 draw at Stoke the only points they have dropped so far.

But they will have to improve their record against their old rivals if they are to retain their unbeaten record. They have lost three consecutive matches at Anfield, with Ferguson recently admitting that his team have been outfought on their recent trips to Merseyside.

With Manchester City hosting Aston Villa, United know that they could lose ground in the title race without a positive result against Kenny Dalglish's team.

Striker Wayne Rooney, who started his career at another of Liverpool's bitter rivals, Everton, feels the short trip to Anfield is the hardest game of the season.

"For me, Liverpool is always the toughest place to go to and win. They'll be pushing to get into the top four and with the signings they've got they're capable of doing that so we'll have to be aware of them and try to beat them this time."

Dalglish's return to the Liverpool manager's job in January has added further spice to this fixture. Ferguson made toppling Dalglish's Liverpool his main priority when he moved to Old Trafford almost 25 years ago.

Dalglish is adamant that closing United's seven-point advantage is his only motivation.

"We've got an opportunity to reduce the gap and it's up to us to take it," he said.

"They are a fantastic team, a hugely successful football club, and we know it's going to be a very difficult game. But I think they'll look at it and think exactly the same thing.

"I don't have any individual contest with Fergie. It's the football clubs who play. We don't play any more. We can't really influence it other than in the build-up and preparation for the games. The most important thing for us is how we compete as a team on the pitch.

"I'm not egotistical, I'm not in this to get one over anyone else. This football club is more important than me and always will be.

"The result on Saturday is more important because it's about how millions of other people feel, rather than how I feel. It's not a boxing match, it's a game of football.

"They are in a position that everyone wants to be in, and that's top position in the league. You cannot argue with that because you want to be there yourself.

"They've set a standard for everyone else to follow or surpass and it's up to us to take up the challenge." — AFP

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Football / Malaysia Cup: Defending champs fall

Posted: 14 Oct 2011 05:14 PM PDT

TERENGGANU sent defending champions Kelantan crashing out of the Malaysia Cup as Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Kuala Terengganu T-Team all registered second leg victories to book their places in the semi-finals yesterday.

After the first leg matches saw six red cards flashed, including five in Kuala Terengganu, the second leg was tame by comparison as Ashaari Samsuddin scored twice for FA Cup champions Terengganu to claim a 2-2 draw with Kelantan in Kota Baru yesterday for a 5-3 aggregate success.

M. Karathu's dream of retaining the Malaysia Cup was dashed in the first half when Terengganu took advantage of overzealous play by Super League champions Kelantan to take a 2-0 lead at half-time.

Manaf Mamat latched on a poor clearance by Kelantan defender S. Subramaniam before sending the ball to Ashaari who in turn lobbed goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat in the 18th minute for the opener.

Five minutes from half-time, Ashaari stabbed the ball past Khairul again before Azamuddin Akil, who had a goal ruled out for offside in the first-half, reduced the deficit for Kelantan following a mistake by Terengganu goalkeeper Shabinee Allawee Ramli, who allowed the ball to slip through his hands, for the striker to slot the ball into an empty net in the 54th minute.

Badhri Radzi scored a penalty in the 70th minute after referee Suhaizi Sukri pointed to the spot for a handball by Terengganu captain Marzuki Yusoff but the visitors held on to claim victory on aggregate.

Selangor's renaissance under interim coach P. Maniam continued after Rudie Ramli scored in a 1-0 win over Perak in the second leg at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh for a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Perak had few goalscoring chances despite having the majority of possession and were punished five minutes into the second half when Rudie, who came off the bench to replace the injured Amri Yahyah midway through the first half, headed into an empty net.

The goal resulted from a free-kick taken by Safiq Rahim, who scored twice from set-piece play in the first leg, which could only be pushed high up by goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin as Rudie followed up with an opportunistic header for his second goal of the tournament.

T-Team extended their fairy-tale run through the competition to the last four after repeating their 2-1 first leg win in Kota Kinabalu to defeat Sabah 4-2 on aggregate at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.

Fitri Omar put T-Team ahead when he scored off a pass from Norfarhan Mohamad in the 28th minute with a grounder which had Sabah goalkeeper Syed Adney Syed Hussain well beaten.

Zairo Anuar Zailani unleashed an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty box in the 67th minute to double T-Team's lead before Mafri Balang scored a consolation for Sabah four minutes from time.

Negri needed extra-time to overcome a 1-0 first leg deficit against Felda United but advanced after Idris Karim and Hairuddin Omar scored in the additional period for a 3-0 win on the night at the Paroi Stadium.

Hairuddin cancelled Felda's first-leg advantage in the 17th minute when he knocked in Shahurain Abu Samah's pass before bagging another in the 112th minute to take his Malaysia Cup tally to five goals, either side of a strike by Idris in the 100th minute.

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Jumaat, 14 Oktober 2011

NST Online: Sports

NST Online: Sports

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