* Terengganu outfit on path for promotion to Super League
* Penang and Kedah neck to neck in battle for No 2 spot
* Sabah lose ground after 2-2 draw against Negeri Sembilan at home
Terengganu outfit T-Team tightened their grip at the top of the Premier League after a 4-1 win over Kuala Lumpur in their opening second round match at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Monday – to open up a four point lead with 29 points after 12 matches.
Penang whipped SPA Putrajaya 4-1 at the City Stadium to move into second place with 25 points – ahead of Kedah on goal difference.
Elias Sulaiman opened the flood gates for Penang after 59 minutes before Nat Saiful Mohamad made it 2-0 for the Panthers before Brazilian Alberto Goncalves competed the rout with a brace in a three-minute spell which began with a penalty (87th) and 89th). Rodion Dyanchenko scored Putrajaya’s consolation goal in the 79th minute.
Kedah packed too much power for UiTM FC at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Star for a 3-1 win with brace from Syafiq Ahmad (52nd and 55th minutes and one by international Baddrol Bakhtiar (63rd). However it were the visitors who opened scoring through Raslan Khan on 36 minutes.
The Titans, who lost their influential Nigerian centre-back and skipper David Oniya when he collapsed on the field during a friendly match against Kelantan at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium and later died at the hospital, the back to back wins over the City Boys was their ninth in the league.
Ahmad Takhiyuddin Roslan was on target as early as the fourth minute and Uzbek hitman Farho Tadjiyev who scored the winner in the 2-1 win in Bangi last week, made it 2-0 in the 21st minute. Nor Hakim Hassan (36th) and Josip Milardovic (52nd) rounded up the scoring before KL pulled one back through Konte Modibo in the 69th minute.
At the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah lost ground when they could only manage a 2-2 draw against Negeri Sembilan Matrix. Sabah had beaten the same team 3-1 in Seremban last week. However, it was a different scenario for the homesters who had to come-from-behind to share the spoils.
Azizi Mat Rose shocked Sabah with his team’s equaliser in the 33rd minute after Sabah went ahead through Eamon Zayed. There was another suprise from K. Devan’s team when Bruno Martelotto put Negeri Sembilan ahead on 63 minutes before Elhadji Diouf saved the blushes for Sabah with the second goal after 78 minutes.
A long range attempt by Ashadi Yusof that JDT II goalkeeper K. Sasikumar failed to save allowed DRB Hicom to share points at the Pasir Gudang Stadium with a 2-2 draw. JDT led 2-0 after 50 minutes with goals by Akhmal Ishak (47th) and Akram Mahinan. DRB Hicom’s other scorer was Ivan Babic (59th)
RESULTS PREMIER LEAGUE (Monday 22 June)
SABAH 2 N.SEMBILAN MATRIX 2
T-TEAM 4 K.LUMPUR 1
PKNS FC 3 KUANTAN FA 2
JDT II 2 DRB-HICOM 2
KEDAH 3 UiTM FC 1
PENANG 4 SPA PUTRAJAYA 1
