SMK Taman Desa Skudai was enthroned as the champions of the 2025 Malaysian Minister of Education Under-14 (U14) League Cup after defeating Akademi Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) U14 in the final held at the Mini Stadium, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) yesterday evening.
It was a repeat of last year’s final that was held in Pasir Gudang, Johor, which saw AMD U14 win 3-1.
However, SMK Taman Desa Skudai was not about to be denied this time around when they only took seven minutes to grab the opener through Muhd Farish Haqiemi Muhd Azharuddin
However, AMD U14 came back three minutes later with Ahmad Muzakif Fitri Muhamad providing the final touch.
SMK Taman Desa Skudai, coached by Rodolfo Pereida Villa, was clearly not perturbed by the equalizer, but instead remained focused on pressuring their opponents.
And their effort paid off handsomely when Zainul Ariffin Mohd Zainuddin Kembali put SMK Taman Desa ahead in the 29th minute before Farish Haqiemi broke the fighting spirit of AMD U14 with a third goal in added time after the end of the 70-minute match for an absolute 3-1 victory.
Pereida was clearly happy that the strategy went according to plan, plus the focus and hard work of each player.
“I believe our plan went well and the players also did their job. Even though we were tied 1-1, the players did not lose focus and followed the plan that had been set.
“We have talented and fast strikers to attack on the left and right, it was a good performance,” said Rodolfo Pereida Villa.
For AMD U-14 coach, Shahril Faizal Ahmad Sharifuddin, the players had given their best and every match they have gone through is a lesson.
“This is the final, which team is better and makes fewer mistakes will take the win.
“For me, the players have given their best and this is development. They need to learn from every match they have gone through and the most important thing for me is the progress they have shown,” said Shahril Faizal.
Meanwhile, the AMD U-16 team’s desire to atone for the disappointment of the younger squad fell short when they lost 5-4 in the penalty shootouts at the hands of SMK Tunku Anum Tunku Abd Rahman in the final of the KPM FAM U-17 Youth League Cup in the second match of the evening.
Both teams were tied at 1-0 at the end of the 90 minutes regulation.
It was AMD U16 that broke the deadlock and took a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute through Muhd Asmadi Muhd Raflee.
But with just a minute left of added time, Muhd Hariz Haziq Hairol Naim scored the equalizer for SMK Tunku Anum to drag the game into extra time and then penalties after no goals were scored.
SMK Tunku Anum goalkeeper, Muhd Airell Elfi Abdullah became the team’s hero when he denied a kick by Muhd Rayyan Anaqy Husharudin for the well-deserved victory.
SMK Tunku Anum coach Mohd Adzlan Abu said that it has been more than ten years since SMK Tunku Anum last made the final and he thanked everyone who had helped the team return to glory.
“We were a little slow at the beginning of the game. I was not sure if it was the travelling factor or the excitement of the final. But we were able to bounce back at the end of the game and become champions.
“The last time we went to the final was in 2013 where we were runners-up. It’s been 12 years and this year we emerged champions,” said Adzlan Abu.
For AMD U-16 coach Ahmad Shahir Ismail, he was satisfied with his players and even set the final as the team’s target.
“I was satisfied with the final but we lost focus at the end of the match and it’s something we need to improve. From the beginning, our target was to reach the final.
“This is the B team because the main team is with the national squad. I’m satisfied that they reached the final and they gave everything throughout the match,” said Shahril
The prizes to the winners were presented by Deputy Minister of Education Malaysia Wong Kah Won and Director of Government and Industry Engagement, Fraser & Neave Holding Bhd, Norazrin Norsyam Yee.
