Thank you, Sundram and Lions XII: Kedah coach

SINGAPORE — Kedah’s coach Antonio Sisic has thanked his LionsXII counterpart V Sundramoorthy for beating Sarawak 1-0 in a crucial Malaysia Cup group stage match at the Jalan Besar Stadium last night (Sept 18).

The result, coupled with Kedah’s shock 1-0 win over Perak on Tuesday (Sept 17), has thrown Group D wide open.

Group leaders Sarawak, the LionsXII, who are second, and third-placed Perak all have seven points now, while Kedah has six even though the Malaysian Premier League side are bottom of the table.

It means that all teams now have a chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the tournament, although Kedah will probably have the slimmest hopes of all, and will need a home win against the LionsXII on Saturday to guarantee their passage into the next round.

Neverthess, Sisic was a very grateful man when TODAY contacted him yesterday.

“Thank you, Sundram,” he said. “The defeat of Sarawak has opened up a route for us to reach the quarter-finals stage .

“If the LionsXII had lost or even drawn the match, things will be difficult for us.

“Every team stands an equal chance of winning a ticket to the last eight. We beat the LionsXII and we are through. The same goes for the LionsXII. They beat us and they are through.

“There was a time when everybody thought Kedah is a gone case. But thanks to the LIonsXII and their latest result, now we even have a chance to top the table.”

Indeed, Sisic was so happy on Wednesday night that he went out to a karaoke outlet in a shopping mall in Alor Setar to sing his heart out for an hour.

“On Saturday, things will be different. So I better do what I like to do first and then come back and prepare for the match against the LionsXII,” he said with a laugh.