The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

Posted: 25 Mar 2013 03:24 PM PDT

March 26, 2013

KOTA BARU, March 26 — Kelantan stormed into the quarterfinals of the FA CUP after defeating Selangor PKNS 4-2 in the second round at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium here last night.

Playing before a crowd of more than 20,000 home fans, the Red Warriors who

are coached by Bojan Hodak went for the jugualr right from the starting whistle and took just four minutes to score their first goal when Mohd Faiz Subri found the net.

Three minutes later, Mohd Badhri Radzi put them two up.

In the 22nd minute, they were awarded a penalty after Mohd Faiz was brought down in the box and Obinna Nwaneiri made no mistake. However, PKNS would not go down without a fight and narrowed the deficit when Mohd Nizad Ayub's 22nd minute header found its mark.

But in their haste to take the game to the opponents, Helmi Remeli gifted an own goal in the 31st minute when his attempt to clear Indra Putra Mahyuddin's shot deflected into his own goal.

In the second half, PKNS tried to turn things around but were only able to get another goal in the 51st minute, that too after a penalty kick was awarded which was duly converted Helmi Loussaief.

This was a rematch after the original match on Feb 26 had to be abandoned becuase of stormy weather. – Bernama

FIFA confirm Costa Rica protest over World Cup snowstorm

Posted: 25 Mar 2013 08:31 AM PDT

March 25, 2013

LONDON, March 25 – FIFA have confirmed that they have received a protest from Costa Rica who were furious at being forced to play Friday's World Cup qualifier away to the United States in a snowstorm.

"We can confirm that FIFA has received a letter from the Costa Rica FA regarding last Friday's World Cup qualifier," said soccer's governing body in a statement.

"FIFA will now analyse the content of the letter and next steps will be determined in due course."

Furious Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto said the match was an "embarrassment to football" after his side lost 1-0 in Denver on a snowy field with a covering that became deeper as the game wore on.

The Costa Rica Football Federation (Fedefutbol) said in a statement on its website that there were four parts to its protest.

It said the conditions were a threat to "the physical integrity" of the players and said stadium officials had come on to the pitch to clear the snow while the ball was in play.

Furthermore, the pitch markings "disappeared" and the "the movement of the ball became impossible due to the quantity of snow on the pitch."

Fedefutbol also demanded sanctions for "all the officials who were involved in the decision to keep playing this game."

"The complete opposite happened in Europe where the snow forced the match between Northern Ireland and Russia in Belfast to be postponed," it added in a separate statement.

"We don't want to create false expectations but we are fighting for rights which we think we violated during this match," said Fedefutbol treasurer Rodolfo Villalobos.

Costa Rica could retaliate by staging the return fixture in the Saprissa stadium, a notoriously hostile arena where the fans are close to the pitch, rather than the new National Stadium, which has a running track around the field.

The defeat left Costa Rica bottom of the six-team final stage in the CONCACAF region qualifiers with one point from two games. The Ticos host Jamaica in San Jose on Tuesday. – Reuters

Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Isnin, 25 Mac 2013

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

The Malaysian Insider :: Sports

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