Muhammad Marhan Mohd Jalil stole the show by guiding a young Negeri Sembilan side to a 2-1 victory in Group B against Sabah in the TNB Tun Abdul Razak Cup 2024 at the Johor Hockey Stadium, Taman Daya, Johor Bahru.
In other Group B matches, Terengganu sealed top spot with 12 points and qualified for the semi-finals following a 4-0 win against Malacca. Faizal Saari scored a brace (4th and 28th minutes), while Fitri Saari (5th) and Muhamad Firdaus Hakimi (48th) netted one each.
Perak and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) were embroiled in a nine-goal thriller. ATM, however, continued to apply pressure but were not able to break a sturdy Perak backline that saw the silver state eventually win 5-4.
Terengganu maintained its position at the top of Group B with 12 points, Perak catapulted to second spot with nine points, and Negeri Sembilan moved down to third (7 points).
In the preliminary round pool matches Negeri lost 1-2 to Perak, held Malacca to a 2-2 draw and defeated Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) 2-1.
In Group A matches, Perlis thumped Singapore 8-1, and Pahang edged Selangor 1-0. Penang and Kuala Lumpur charted a scoreless draw.
“It was a good performance shown by my players. There has been a lot of improvement since our first match. We felt the positivity in this match,” said Negeri Sembilan coach G. Kavin Kartik. “I believe we are back in the race and it is important that we continue our winning momentum in the last two matches against Terengganu (Oct 7) and ATM (Oct 8).”
The first two quarters started with plenty of chances for both teams but it was Marhan, with more than 300 international caps, who broke the deadlock by netting the first goal in the 24th minute via a penalty corner conversion.
Sabah, supported by three national team players in goalkeeper Adrian Andy Albert, forwards Muhajir Abdu Rauf and Shello Silverius, then set the stage for a tense finish. They pulled one back through Muhajir in the 43rd minute in similar fashion.
Shafy Shahymm Huzzemi did a quick and devastating counter-attack in the 55th minute that ended with him slamming the ball past Adrian and into the net. The four-time champions (1965, 1967, 1975, 1977) went on to celebrate a deserving 2-1 victory.