Penalty...

...Heartbreak.

It was a match eagerly awaited by football fans. The transfer wrangling between the two teams during the close season involving three players now playing for the home team was the source of the 'heat' surrounding the match.

For Kelantan fans it was an opportunity by their team to show that life goes on for them without the trio. And life is indeed very well for 'The Kijang' with their current position at the top of the pile in the Malaysian Super League (MSL) while PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) are languishing in the bottom rung of the MSL.

Thus the stage was set for an explosive encounter. However, at stake was a place in the second round of the Malaysian FA Cup and a result must be reached during this match after the format was changed from a two legged affair to just a single match knock-out match for the first two rounds of the competition.

Unfortunately mad redo1 was not around to witness the match first hand and to snap a few shots from it. He was away in Kedah fulfilling a promise made to his other half since the day he got hitched way back in mid-nineties.

Being away meant he missed witnessing Indra Putra Mahyudin's first competitive goal for his new team, cancelling the opener by Kelantan's Rizal Fahmi Rosid, eight minutes after the latter scored in the 53rd minute.

Then of course he missed witnessing national striker, Terengganu born Norshahrul Idlan Talaha missed from the spot that could have prevented the extra thirty minutes from being played to separate the two teams.

In the end the lottery of penalties went in favour of the visitors but for T-Team and their supporters could take heart from their battling performance in holding the current league leaders to a draw.

It was just lady luck that did not smile on them during the shootout.

Hopefully she will when T-Team take on the field again on Saturday against bottom team Perlis. With Indra scoring his first goal of the season hopefully there will be more to come from him and his team-mates to ensure a good season for T-Team after a very poor start to it with just a point to show after four matches.

But the battle for FA Cup is over, at least for this season.



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