WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PLAYERS AFTER THESE!

SMK Mohd Nazrul Mazlan was the toast of SMK Putera as the Kelantan school edged former champions SMK Guar Perahu of Penang 1-0 in the final at the Cochrane Sports Excellence Centre to take this year’s 100PLUS Supe Cup Champion Schools title.

It was a final that could have gone either way but it was tale of missed chances for the tired teams.

However SMK Putera, runners-up to SMK Anderson of Perak last year, were determined not to play second fiddle again.

The East Coast side stepped up a gear when it mattered most against the gritty opponents from Penang who failed to make the quarter-finals last year.

The winner came in the 57th minute when Mohd Ferris Danial Mohd Nor broke through on the left and sent a teasing shot into the six yard box for Nazrul to put the finishing touches that had Guar Perahu goalkeeper Muhammad Fahmi Ali well beaten.

SMK Putera coach Mahadi Hassan was not only pleased with the result but was pleasantly surprised that his team walked away with five other awards in the four-day tournament.

The champions won the best goalkeeper award through Mohd Fakhrul Ikram Azahari while Mohd Ferris picked up the top scorer’s award with five goals in the tournament.

There was more joy for SMK Putera when Mohd Rozaimi Azwar Mohd Nor won two awards when he was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player apart from winning the Man of the Match award in the final.

SMK Putera also won the Fair Play award to round up a memorable outing in this year’s tournament which made up for the 2-0 defeat to Anderson in the final last year.

SMK Guar Perahu’s Mohd Naim Zakaria was named the Best Midfielder while SMK Kuala Nerang’s (Kedah) Mohd Shahrizal Abdullah was the Best Defender.

“I must admit that it was not our best performance in the final. They players were lethargic and tired. But the determination to win saw us come through,” said Mahadi.

SMK Guar Perahu coach Zaid Yahya said: “We had come with high hopes of winning the title this year as most of my players were in the team last year. However, it was not our day.

“We gave our best but it was not good enough for us to be the champions. I have no complaints as the players played their hearts out.”

SMK Guar Perahu last won the title in 2004 when the tournament was held in Kota Baru, beating Sabah’s Mengabang Talipot in the final.

Earlier in the morning, Kuala Nerang beat SMK Clifford, Kuala Kangsar of Perak 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in extra time to take the third place

ROLL OF HONOUR

CHAMPIONS: SMK Putera (Kelantan)
THIRD: SMK Kuala Nerang (Kedah)
RUNNERS-UP: SMK Guar Perahu (Penang)
TOP SCORER: Mohd Ferris Danial Mohd Nasir (SMK Putera)
BEST DEFENDER: Mohd Shahrizal Abdullah (SMK Kuala Nerang, Kedah)
BEST MIDFIELDER: Mohd Naim Zakaria (SMK Guar Perahu)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Mohd Rozaimi Azwar Mohd Nor (SMK Putera)
MAN OF THE MATCH (Final): Mohd Rozaimi Azwar Mohd Nor (SMK Putera)
FAIRPLAY: SMK Putera