# Red Giants have former champions Kelantan, Pahang and K.Lumpur for company
# FA Cup winners JDT have a easier Group C
By Rizal Abdullah
Selangor, winners of the prestigious silverware for a record 33 times will not have it easy in this year’s Malaysia Cup when the Red Giants were drawn in Group B together with former champions Kelantan, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur.
Kelantan and Pahang maybe struggling to get their act right in the Super League this year but with the transfer window opening in June the East Coast teams are likely to make some drastic changes to their respective teams.
Kuala Lumpur, winners of the Malaysia Cup from 1987 to 1989, are plying their trade in the second-tier Premier League but the City Boys have done well after the completion of the first round fixtures are well placed for promotion under coach Ismail Zakaria.
Selangor have their ups and downs under new coach Zainal Abidin Hassan and their inconsistency saw the Red Giants failing to make the AFC Cup quarter-finals.
Two-time Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim were drawn in Group C with Police, Perak and Premier League outfit Selangor club PKNS FC – beaten by the Southern Tigers 2-1 in the FA Cup final.
Two-time treble champions Kedah are in Group A with T-Team, Sarawak and Premier League’s JDT II while Super League contenders Felda United will battle with Terengganu, Malacca United and Negri Sembilan in Group D.
This year’s Malaysia Cup competition is played under a new format – with the top 11 teams in the Super League and the top five teams in the Premier League making the cut for the country’s oldest football competition after 11 matches.
The odd team out of the Malaysia Cup from the Super League are Penang. The Malaysia Cup competition will begin in August.
MALAYSIA CUP DRAW
GROUP A
T-Team
Kedah
Sarawak
JDT II
GROUP B
Selangor
Kelantan
Pahang
Kuala Lumpur
GROUP C
JDT
Police
Perak
PKNS FC
GROUP D
Felda United
Terengganu
Malacca United
N. Sembilan
