PDRM surprised everyone within the Malaysian football fraternity after downing Johor DT 1-0 earlier today. The Southern Tigers went into the game as massive favourites, especially after PDRM’s 5-3 defeat to LionsXII last time out, but Azman Adnan’s men were far more organized this time around. They kept most of Johor DT’s attackers at bay and successfully nullified the threat posed by their key players as well. And Mohamadou Sumareh found the back of the net to hand Bojan’s men a frustrating defeat, which happens to be their second one this week after losing to Bangkok Glass in the Asian Champions League in midweek.
Sarawak produced a stunning first half performance to silence title contenders Terengganu at the Stadium Negeri in Kuching. Billy Mehmet netted his second goal of the season to give them the lead on the 3rd minute before Ashri Chuchu found the back of the net two minutes later to make it 2-0. Terengganu eventually recovered and reduced the deficit through Paulo Rangel, but Joseph Kalang Tie had other ideas; scoring Sarawak’s third goal to make it 3-1. Abdul Rahman’s side pushed hard after the break, but the home side never looked like they were going to drop this one.
Meanwhile, Perak made it two wins in two games after yet another comfortable 2-0 win, with ATM being their victims this time around. Nasir Basharuddin opened the scoring with a stunning finish in the first half and despite ATM’s best efforts, Datuk M. Karathu’s men doubled their lead just eight minutes after the restart. Nurridzuan Abu Hassan, who also scored against Sime Darby last weekend, found the back of the net with a brilliantly executed free-kick to make it 2-0. Jerry Palacios missed a glorious chance to reduce the deficit late in the game, but the Seladangs eventually held on to move to the top of the table.
Selangor and Pahang played out a competitive 1-1 draw in Kuantan, with both sides collecting their first point of the season. They were both dubbed ‘wounded lions’ after their defeats on Matchday One, but in the first half, the match visibly lacked tempo as both sides adopted a cautious style of play. Matias Conti eventually broke the deadlock on the hour’s mark, but Selangor’s Andik Vermansyah equalized soon after that, silencing the home crowd. Zainal’s men kept pushing for the coveted winner but the score remained until full-time, which at the end of the day, was a fair result for both teams.
Meanwhile, Sime Darby‘s frustrating start to the season continued after they incurred their second consecutive defeat of the season. Ahmad Syamim netted for Felda United on the 11th minute, before Ndumba Makeche continued his terrific form by firing Felda’s second goal just three minutes later, handing a massive blow to the home side. That being said, Ismail Zakaria’s men pushed hard to get back into the game, though their valiant efforts went down the drain when Shukor Adan fired Felda’s third goal on the 77th minute mark to complete a resounding win for the Settlers.
Photo Credits: Asiana.my
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