“Tusty” kicks Kedah to Malaysia Cup

Marlon “Tusty” James scored two goals to give Kedah F.C. a hold on the Malaysia Cup last week Saturday.

James’ goals came in the 26th and 81st minutes of the match, which reports say was played in front of 70,000 spectators, as Kedah blanked Perak 3-0 in the Final.{{more}}

The win by Kedah gave them a rare clean sweep of titles in Malaysian Football history.

Kedah added the Malaysian Cup to the F.A. Cup and the Super League titles to their 2006/2007 bounty.

Kedah’s 2006/2007 timeline showed them securing the Malaysian FA Cup for the second time in the club’s history, after beating Perlis 4-2 in a penalty shootout, June 30.

The date of August 4 was a glorious moment for Kedah FA and their fanatic fans, when they beat DPMM FC, a Football club from Brunei which plays in the Malaysian Super League 1-0 to win the Malaysian Super League title for the second time in the club’s history.

James crowned off the club’s domination September 8 with his brace.

But it was not James’ input that has led to Kedah’s dream season. Another Vincentian, Cornelius Huggins, is one of the team’s main defenders, and is also Kedah’s Vice Captain.

The two played significant roles in Kedah’s consecutive 21 match unbeaten run in all competitions from December last year to April this year.

James missed out copping by one goal the prestigious Golden Boot award for the second time. This award is presented to the player scoring the most goals.

However, James was adjudged the Most Valuable Player among the overseas based professionals, with Kedah teammates taking four other awards.

James, who joined Kedah last year, previously had stints in Malaysia with Sabah and MK Land.

He was the top marksman in 2005, while leading MK Land.

With their overseas season ended, the two should be heading back to Kedah after their outstanding input to their club’s success. Moreso, the stakes are higher for both men who have enhanced their status in another stand out performance in the South Asian country.

With St. Vincent and the Grenadines gaining a bye to the second round of the CONCACAF Zone of the 2010 World Cup Qualifiers, both James and Huggins Vincentians are expected to turn out for Vincy Heat early next year.(RT)