SEMENYIH PUTRA UNITED AND GLENMARIE UNITED ON CLOUD NINE

PETALING JAYA (17 NOVEMBER, 2013): Semenyih Putra United (SPU) and Glenmarie United FC powered their way to the Liga 1MCC-Hong Leong Yamaha Klang Valley Zone Under-16 Division One and Two titles respectively in contrasting fashions at the Petaling Jaya Municipal Stadium.

In an epic final, SPU and Permata-MBSA were engaged in a hotly contested encounter for close to 100 minutes with neither side scoring. The match was eventually decided on penalties and SPU celebrated victory with a 4-3 win to claim the Division One title and together with it a winning purse of RM6, 000.

The goal scorers for SPU, who had led the table standings in the league for most part of the season, were Tengku Ahmad Adili Kamili, Badrul Amin, B. Gunaseelan and Ahmad Hijazi Mohd Muhyiddin while Permata-MBSA were on target through Nabil Hakim Bokhari, Wan Haziq Emir and S. Thipanraj.

SPU’s celebration did not end there as it was also a night to remember for Badrul and Gunaseelan. Striker Badrul, who featured for the national team at the 2012 Asean Schools championships in Bangkok, bagged the Liga 1MCC Top Scorer (12 goals) and Most Valuable Player awards while Gunaseelan was adjudged the Man of the Match in the final.

Permata-MBSA goalkeeper Amirul Syafiq Mohd Samsuri capped a fine performance throughout the league to outshine the others to win the Best Goalkeeper award, while Perkasa FC was rewarded with the Fairplay award.

“Before the final, I told my players that we have come this far and that they should play their hearts out to win the championship. We had tried out several players, especially the strikers, with new combinations in training and our selection process and strategy worked well against Permata-MBSA,” said an elated SPU coach P. Santhiranmohan.

“It is a wonderful experience for the team to win the title as they (coaching staff) and players were really committed in the task. For now we will let the players celebrate and cherish this moment before planning our next move,” he added.

The Division Two final held earlier seen Glenmarie United FC make up for the disappointments of the last two seasons to pulverise Ombak FC 4-1 with goals from D. Kuhan (26th and 52nd minutes), S. Lingeswaran (38th minute) and Badrul Amin (46th minute). Ombak FC replied through Aiman Shafiq Zakaria in the 44th minute.

Glenmarie United, who had picked up RM4,000 for their efforts, were knocked out in the quarterfinals stage in 2011 and finished third last year. Ombak FC received RM2,000.

As for Ombak FC, the defeat was certainly a heart-wrenching moment as it dashed all hopes of a treble – having already claimed the Liga 1MCC-Hong Leong Yamaha Under-12 and Under-14 Division Two championships early this year.

The finals was witnessed by an estimated 800 fans including 1Malaysia Cardiff City (1MCC) Chairman, Dato’ Chan Tien Ghee, 1MCC Chief Executive Officer, Datin Vivienne Leong, Hong Leong Bank Berhad Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Tan Kong Khoon,  Astro Senior Assistant Vice-President for Corporate Responsibility and Community Affairs, Jolyn Gasper, Hong Leong-Yamaha Managing Director C.H. Ng, Hong Leong Yamaha General Manager Sales and Marketing, Voon Yin Kong and Hong Leong Bank Berhad Group Corporate Affairs Manager, Devi Muniandy.

Striker Kugan had earlier set the pace for Glenmarie United with the opening goal on 27th minute from a corner at the far left post. Collecting a short pass from Lingeswaran, the Klang High School Form Four student manoeuvred his way past a defender, moved into the box and let fly a left-footed shot from an acute angle near the goal line, forcing goalkeeper Zahal Asis to parry it away but to his dismay saw the ball sail into the net.

Ten minutes later, Lingeswaran increased the score to 2-0 with a swashbuckling performance near the top of the box. He weaved his way past three defenders, rounded goalkeeper Zahal, and produced a composed finish. It was arguably one of the best goals ever scored throughout the 2013 league.

Ombak FC replied through Aiman (46th) but Badrul made it 3-1 in the very next minute before Kugan returned to score his second and Glenmarie’s fourth goal in the 52rd minute. It was also Kugan’s 17th goal and the 16-year-old was all smiles when he received three awards – Man of the Match, Division Two Most Valuable Player, and Top Striker.

Division One Roll of Honour:

Champions – Semenyih Putra United

Runners-up – Permata-MBSA

Man of the Match – Puvaneswaran Basgaran (Semenyih Putra United)

Liga 1MCC Top Scorer – Badrul Amin (Semenyih Putra United) 12 Goals

Liga 1MCC Best Goalkeeper: Amirul Syafiq Mohd Samsuri (Permata-MBSA)

Liga 1MCC Most Valuable Player: Badrul Amin (Semenyih Putra United)

Fair Play Trophy: Perkasa FC

Division Two Roll of Honour:

Champions – Glenmarie United FC

Runners-up – Ombak FC

Man of the Match – D. Kugan (Glenmarie United FC)

Liga 1MCC Top Scorer – D. Kugan (Glenmarie United FC) 17 Goals

Liga 1MCC Best Goalkeeper: S. Vishnu (Glenmarie United FC)

LIga 1MCC Most Valuable Player: D. Kugan (Glenmarie United FC)

Fair Play Trophy: KB Nadi Dahlia

Released on behalf of 1Malaysia Cardiff City Football Academy Sdn Bhd.  For further information kindly contact:

Christopher Raj

PR, Media & Special Projects Consultant, 1MCC

012 2161881

chris@1mcc.my