* Defending champions Pahang get easy Group D
* Super League champions JDT look strong in Group B
* Selangor drawn in Group of Death (Group C) with Felda, Kelantan and T-TeamĀ
Champions Pahang will not be short of confidence in the prestigious Malaysia Cup – the country’s premier football competition – when the Elephants were drawn in a relatively easy Group D when the draw was made in Petaling Jaya on Thursday.
Others in group are Super League’s Police and Premier League runners-up Penang and PKNS FC. Penang earned promotion to the elite Super League while PKNS FC under coach E. Elavarasan finished fourth.
Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) also seem to have an easy group in Group B although keeping them company are Perak, Sarawak and Armed Forces. All played in the Super League this season but Armed Forces have been relegated to the lower tier Premier League next year while Sarawak barely escaped relegation.
However, 32-time champions Selangor, better known as the Red Giants, are in the Group of Death (Group C) with 2012 treble winners Kelantan, Felda United and Terengganu outfit T-Team.
Selangor had a roller-coaster run in the Super League this season before finishing a creditable third. It will be a tough battle for the former kingpins and their “Mission 33” for the Malaysia Cup could once again gather dust.
Group A is another toughie in every sense when you have former champions Terengganu, Kedah and Lions XII joining playoff winnerr JDT II. Kedah were back to back treble winners in 2007 and 2008 under Azraai Khor Abdullah.
Singapore last won the much sought after Malaysia Cup in 1994 before the neighbours from across the causeway severed their football links to set up their own S-League.
Lions XII coached by Singapore’s famous football son Fandi Ahmad, won the FA Cup this year and wrote football history in the process to become the first foreign team to win the silverware with a 3-1 win over Kelantan in the final.
The Malaysia Cup competition kickoff on Sept 11.
GROUP A : Terengganu, Lions XII, Kedah, JDT II
GROUP B : JDT, Perak, Sarawak, Armed Forces
GROUP C : Selangor, Felda United, Kelantan, T-Team
GROUP D : Pahang, Police, Penang, PKNS FC
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