Kelantan continued their revival by claiming valuable three points at home, as they smashed three goals past Penang to beat them 3-1 earlier today.
K. Devan named a strong starting eleven, with Piya, Jonatan Lucca and Brendan Gan in midfield, while Dramane Traore and Blaze Ilijoski led the line upfront.
Penang on the other hand, were looking to bank on Matias Cordoba’s magic, fielding him alongside Faiz Subri and Rafiuddin, while Kumaahran was also handed a start after his recent string of impressive performances.
But Kelantan got their attacking juices flowing within minutes into the game, and they eventually seized the lead on the 4th minute mark through Ilijoski, sending the stadium into instant frenzy.
The early goal allowed them to impose their momentum on the match tempo, but Penang showed plenty of resilience by slowly clawing back into the game. But while the Panthers were excellent in midfield, they were finding it hard to break past a sturdy Kelantan defence.
The home side could have doubled their lead on the 11th minute, but Indra Putra’s impeccable attempt sailed wide off target. They created another solid chance minutes later, though this time around, Traore was guilty of poor finishing as he fired it wide.
Kumaahran and Jaffri Chew then produced an exquisite moment that almost resulted in a goal. Kumaahran threaded an excellent ball for Jaffri, though the latter’s attempt failed to find the back of the net.
While Penang were extremely wasteful with their opportunities, Kelantan capitalized on it with a hit and run moment, snatching a second goal through Ilijoski again, to make it 2-0 on the night.
There was a lot more intent from Penang in the second half, but with a comfortable 2-0 lead, Kelantan did the smart thing by allowing Penang to drive towards them and pile men forward, which in return creates a comfortable spectrum within which they could potentially orchestrate a counter-attack.
In fact, the Red Warriors introduced Wan Zack into the game with hopes of potentially sealing a third goal, but Piya turned out to be the man as he fired home to effectively end Penang’s hopes of claiming three points, on the 71st minute.
Rafiuddin’s shot was then saved by Khairul Fahmi, before substitute Osas Saha fired home on the 82nd minute to reduce the deficit and make it 3-1. Penang immediately responded by throwing Elias Sulaiman on, thinking that they could push for a late onslaught and seize a comeback.
That being said, the home side did enough to hold on and secure a morale-boosting win that would undoubtedly enthrall their fans.
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