KUALA LUMPUR, May 9 (Bernama) -- Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ended the dominance of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) when they won the 2025 IPT (Higher Education Institutions) Football League Charity Cup after a 4-2 victory in a penalty shootout here tonight.
In the high stakes action at the Universiti Malaya (UM) Arena, the winner had to be determined through a penalty shootout after intense action throughout the match ended in a scoreless deadlock.
UKM goalkeeper Muhammad Adam Harris Herman emerged as the hero when he saved two UiTM kicks taken by Mohammad Arif Imran Abdul Rahman and Muhammad Hariz Husaini Mohd Harimanto to seal his team's victory.
UKM's four penalties were slotted into the UiTM net by Saiful Iskandar Adha Saiful Azlan, Haris Zafri Hashim, Vikie Owen Marinus and Muhammad Akif Ahmad Ariffin respectively.
For the record, UiTM have emerged as winner of the Charity Cup every season since 2018 except when the competition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic for two years before resuming in the 2022/2023 season.
Speaking post-match, UKM coach Mohd Rafiq Roslan could not hide his joy when his lads managed to lift the first trophy to open the season.
"We managed to win our first Cup against UiTM, which we know are not an ordinary team and my players managed to fend off the pressure and through sheer hard work managed to reap the rewards. The journey (to top the league) is still a long way off, but this will be a boost to our spirits," he said.
Meanwhile, UKM captain Muhammad Iman Hakimi Aznan could hardly believe that he could lead the team to win the Charity Cup in his first year as a student there.
"UKM has not won a trophy for a long time and I am only in my first year but thank goodness I was given the honour to lead the team to the Charity Cup, thanks to my teammates who gave their best commitment," said the 22-year-old student.
Despite losing on penalties, the goalless draw allowed UiTM to share one point with UKM in the opening match of the IPT Division 1 League.
-- BERNAMA
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