* Defending champions Lions XII edge Armed Forces
* Kelantan move up to second with nine points
* Sarawak and Selangor just behind The Red Warriors on goal difference
TERENGGANU took the shine off a tired Pahang with a 2-0 win at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu tonight to move to the top of the Super League for the first time.
Mario Karlovic and Ismail Faruqi scored for The Turtles, who now head the 12-team league with 10 points from three wins, one draw and one defeat.
Defending champions LionsXII came back from a first half deficit to defeat Armed Forces 2-1.
The soldiers took a 1-0 lead after only four minutes via Amiridzwan Taj, but the Singaporeans hit back with goals from Mohd Khairul Amri Mohd Kamal (47th) and Afiq Yunos (90th).
Armed Forces, who were second at the start of the day, fell to seventh, with the Singaporeans moving up to fifth.
FA Cup champions Kelantan moved up to second after beating T-Team 3-0 with goals from Mohamed Shawky (32nd), Mohd Badhri Radzi (44th) and Mohd Badhri Radzi (84th). They have nine points from three wins and two defeats.
At the State Stadium in Kuching, Sarawak kept their rich form with a 1-0 win over a gritty Perak to move into third place on goal difference.
The Crocs’ winner came in the eighth minute through striker Milorad Janjus whose freekick found the top right hand corner – giving Perak keeper Razie Effendi Suhit no chance.
Former kingpins Selangor, meanwhile, lost 4-1 to Johor Darul Takzim (I), but are still ahead of the Southern Tigers in the standings with nine points. Paulo Rangel scored Selangor’s consolation.
Pahang, the reigning Malaysia Cup champions gave a below par performance and chief coach Ronald Smith said: “Terengganu fully deserved the win as we looked fatigued.
“This is the eighth game we have played in less than 30 days because of the unbelievable schedule.”
While Terengganu celebrated their win and kept their unbeaten home record, Smith will have his hands full because Pahang have a tough second leg FA Cup quarter-final against Police in Kuantan on Tuesday.
A happy Terengganu coach Abdul Rahman Ibrahim said: “We have been working on our set pieces and it paid dividends tonight.”
Terengganu needed only 20 minutes to snatch the lead and it came off a delightfully executed freekick from 30 metres after Pahang’s Azidan Sarudin was hauled up for rough play.
Australian-born Karlovic, who was signed from Indonesian club Persebaya Surabaya, showed why he is a dead ball specialist when his freekick flew past the wall, bounced once before going past a stunned Pahang custodian Khairul Azhan.
Terengganu were breathing fire after the break but had to wait until the 70th minute to increase their lead. This time it was skipper Ismail who made it count when he beat the offside trap to roll the ball past Azhan after being set-up by Nor Farhan Muhammad.