Terengganu showed that they are very much a team to be reckoned with after sharing the spoils with a 2-2 draw against five-time champions Johor Darul Takzim in a Super League match at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Friday.
It was a far better show from the Turtles who drew 1-1 with PKNS FC at home in their opening match which was followed by a 3-0 defeat to Pahang in Kuantan.
The homesters grabbed a seventh-minute lead through Khairul Izuan Rosli with an assist from English-born Lee Tuck.
JDT could have drawn level on 30 minutes when their recent star buying – Brazilian Diogo Luis Santo from Buriram United was felled inside the box by Cambodian international Thierry Bin.
However, the Brazilian muffed his spot kick as Terengganu went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The second half saw the Southern Tigers roar back into action with two goals in a spate of six minutes. Terengganu-born Safawi Rasid earned a penalty which he converted in the 62nd minute.
Six minutes later Diogo made up for his penalty miss when he found the net – hitting home an unstoppable shot past Terengganu’s veteran goalkeeper Suffian Rahman from a corner by Spaniard Aaron Niquez. JDT 2-1.
However, Terengganu determined not to let JDT return home with full points found the equalizer in the 90th minute through Kamal Azizi Zabri found the net past a sea of legs for a share of the spoils.
For the record, JDT beat Perak 1-0 to win their Charity Shield match which also doubled up as a league match and thrashed Kuala Lumpur 4-1 in their second match. Both matches were played at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru. RIZAL ABDULLAH
