Perak notched their first win in the Super League, Terengganu got their first home win and Johor Darul Takzim continued their winning ways to regain their spot at the top of the table with a 3-0 win over winless PKNP.
Terengganu finally ended their winless run at home with a 3-0 whitewash of Melaka United at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday.
The Turtles handed the skipper’s armband to their veteran 40-year-old goalkeeper Suffian Rahman instead of Kipre Thetche but the Ivorian failed to break his duck.
Instead, Nasrullah Hanif Johan gave Terengganu the lead after 23 minutes with a header off a corner by Lee Tuck to signal Terengganu’s dominance against Melaka.
This was followed by new signing Sanjar Shaakhmedov who got his first goal for his new team 41 minutes – finding his target with his dribbling skills past his marker. Terengganu 2-0.
Substitute Ahmad Syamim Yahya completed the rout for Terengganu with the third goal in the second half after beating an offside trap.
At the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru, the Southern Tigers rode on two penalties in a spate of five minutes put paid to PKNP’s hopes of at least sharing the spoils.
The first came on 35 minutes when Diogo Luis Santo was brought down inside the box by Giancarlo Rodrigues. Santo picked himself up to get his name into the scoresheet.
Five minutes later it was another penalty for the five-time Malaysian Super League champions. Again it was Santo who was fouled inside the box. – this time by Shafiq Afifi. Argentine Gonzalo Cabrera scored from the spot.
Earlier JDT opened the scoring through Leandro Velazquez from an assist by Santo on 27 minutes.
At the Perak Stadium in Perak, the Bos Gauros notched their first win in the league after five matches – a 1-0 win over Petaling Jaya City FC – thanks to a 37th-minute penalty converted by Wander Luiz.
Meanwhile, PKNS FC gunned down Felda United 2-0 at the Shah Alam Stadium with goals by Romel Ramirez (23rd) and Tamirlan Kozubaev (46th).
After Saturday’s matches, JDT is on top with 16 points after six matches. Pahang is second on 14 points while Kedah and PKNS have 11 points each in the third and fourth place respectively with the goal difference separating them.
Melaka is fifth on 10 points followed by Terengganu in sixth place with nine points. RIZAL ABDULLAH
