IMT-GT Games - UiTM 5 UUM 1

The UUM soccer team started their first match in the 11th IMT-GT Varsity Sports Carnival 2009 losing to UiTM 1-5. Playing on a hard, uneven and bumpy pitch, caused the Northern Warriors a disastrous start to the games. The coaches had to make a last minute decision to bring in Mohd Taufikh Abdullah in place of Khairul Abd Rahim who injured his groin while warming up. First goalkeeper, Mohd Razi Azami couldn't start the match as he arrived late to the venue and had to be replaced by Ezad Fadzril Baharuddin.

UUM started the game aggessively with team captain, Mohd Rahizan Md Kasmani leading the attack. Meanwhile Ezad Fadzril Baharuddin, Mohd Taufikh Abdullah and K.Shankar stood firm in defense until K.Shankar brought down a UiTM striker in the box and was awarded a penalty. The match ended 0-1. Onuoha Kelechi came in to substitute Cao Le in the 30th minite. In the second half, the Northern Warriors seems to have lost their concentration. Off a corner kick, a UiTM striker outjumped K.Tharmendran to score the second goal on the far post. Again from a set-piece, UiTM increased their lead with another header to make it 3-0. UiTM got their 4th goal from another corner kick when he was left unmarked. The 5th goal for UiTM came when they managed to break the offside trap set by Mohd Taufikh and K.Shankar and tapped the ball into the far post. UUM made 2 substitutions by bringing in Obiekwe Norbert for ineffective Mohd Syazuan Abdul Hamid (65th) and later Wan Mohamad Aizat Md Nasri for Mohd Asrol Zainal (70th). UUM's consolation goal was scored by Mohd Rahizan Md Kasmani (pic) in the 78th minute from the spot after he was brought down by a defender. The final score is UiTM 5 UUM 1. Tomorrow, UUM will face Prince University of Songkhla (PSU) in the second match at Padang Rani, UiTM Arau at 5.00pm.

UUM Team To The IMT-GT Games

UUM has enlisted 20 players for the 11th IMT-GT Varsity Sports Carnival to be held from March 27th to April 1st 2009 in Arau, Perlis. The 20 players registered for this tournament are from the 25 players selected earlier. UUM is drawn in Group A together with defending champion Institut Teknologi Medan (ITM), Prince of Songkhla University (PSU) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Mohd Fadri Kaharuddin (Jilik) who was injured in an accident last Tuesday was not in the list. Mohannad O.N. Elmadini (Monu) and Onuoha Kelechi (Kelex) who was missing from training was also not registered. The Northern Warriors are :-

Goalkeepers - Mohd Razi Azami, Ezad Fadzril Baharuddin
Defenders - Mohd Taufikh Abdullah, Khairul Abd Rahim, Shanker Kuppusamy, Thevan Raman, Dominic Roy Joseph, Tharmendran Kumaran, Mohd Sharin Mujin
Midfielders - Obiekwe Norbert, Cao Le, Mohd Saiful Islam Ghazali, Zaki Lateh, Mahama Saiful Kalatae, Syed Mohamad Hilmi Shahabudin
Strikers - Mohd Rahizan Md Kasmani, Wan Mohamad Aizat Md Nasri, Mohd Nasron Basri, Mohd Shafuan Abdul Hamid, Nor Asrol Zainal

Soccer Friendly - UiTM 1 The Northern Warriors 1

The Northern Warriors drew 1-1 to UiTM in a friendly match played at the UiTM Stadium in Arau. The match was played to gauge and assess the combination of the team prior to the IMT-GT Varsity Sports Carnival to be held in Kangar this weekend. The match started on the slippery pitch with both teams had an equal share of the game. The defence stood firm under the command of Khairul Abd Rahim while Cao Le dominated in midfield. Nor Hasrul Zainal gave some tough times to the opponent's defence with his darting run on the left. UUM made several changes in the second half with Mohd Taufikh Abdullah took over the command in defence. UiTM took the lead in the 63rd minute after the defenders failed to clear the ball out of the 6yards box and the opponent slammed from close range beating Mohd Razi Azami. UUM equalised through Wan Mohamad Aizat Md Nasri after collecting a rebounce from an attempt made by Mohd Rahizan Md Kamsani. The goal came from a very intelligent penetrating pass made by Mohd Saiful Islam Ghazali to Syed Mohamad Hilmi Shahabudin on the right flank who made an early cross-in into the box.

The IMT-GT Sports Carnival 2009

After the selection of players is completed, the coaches will now get their hands full preparing the team for the IMT-GT Sports Carnival scheduled for March 27th to April 2nd, 2009. Soccer is part of several events to be hosted by University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). The Northern Warriors are drawn together in Group A with Institut Teknologi Medan, Indonesia (ITM), Prince of Songkhla University, Thailand (PSU) and University Teknologi MARA, Malaysia (UiTM). Meanwhile, Group B consists of Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia (USU), Thaksin University of Songkhla, Thailand (TSU), University Sains Malaysia (USM) and host Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). 20 out of 25 players currently undergoing training under head coach, Azman Hj Eusoff, will be selected and registered for this tournament.