Turtles Tied...

...by Canaries

The second visit by Kedah to Kuala Terengganu this season saw them continuing their tag as Terengganu's bogey team after holding the host to a 1-1 draw at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium. On the opening day of the season, The Canaries were convincingly beaten 3-0 by PBDKT T-Team, a bad start to the season which saw them collecting just seven points from eight matches so far.

The draw saw Terengganu dreams of going on top of the Super League were dashed again. They could have been the new league leaders at the expense of Kelantan and Perak who were all suffered defeats last night at the hands of Selangor and Lions XII respectively. In the end Terengganu remained in third place, equal on points with the Lions XII but having a better goal difference.

Terengganu came into the match at the back of two matches without a win, the last being a 2-1 defeat against fellow title challenger Kelantan in Kota Bharu on Saturday. Kedah on the other hands were on a good roll of results which saw them picking up their first win against Kuala Lumpur and taking a point off Sabah in Alor Setar.

Without their influential skipper, Mazuki Yusof who was suspended for the match, Terengganu fans were worried that their defence could not contain the new foreign duo in the Kedah line-up; Abdul El-Fatah Safi and Mohamad Hamidan. But the defensive partnership of Hasmizan Kamarodin and Muslim Ahmad did their job well.

However, their forward line of Abdul Manaf Mamat, Ashaari Shamsuddin and Francis Doe found the going was tough against a Kedah side contented on sitting back in numbers, absorbing the pressure and hitting the opponents on the break.

The tactic seemed to backfire when Ashaari's individual skill saw him finding space and time to unleash a shot which flew past Kedah goalkeeper, Helmi Eliza to give Terengganu the lead which they took into the interval.

The start to the second half was then delayed when the stadium's floodlight failed, plunging the arena into darkness. The match was eventually restarted after twenty minutes and Terengganu went into the offensive in search for the second goal.

Unfortunately their failure to deliver the telling pass in the final third proved to be the downfall when El-Fatah managed to find space and time on the left to deliver a cross which was headed home by an unmarked Khyril Muhymeen.

Meanwhile at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka, PBDKT T-Team notched their second consecutive victory with a 3-0 win over Felda United. Faiz Subri scored a brace while skipper Zairo Anuar Zalani's successful strike from the penalty spot took his tally to eight goals this season.

The win saw T-Team moved to fifth place in the standings at the expense of Negeri Sembilan who were forced to share the spoils by draw specialist, PKNS FC. The match at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw.

Johor FC remained winless at home after their latest outing at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Stadium against Sarawak ended with yet another defeat. The Crocs posted a 2-1 win to leapfrog The Bees into eighth place while the home side dropped to tenth. Sabah 2-1 home win over bottom side Kuala Lumpur saw them moved up to eleventh.


...

Losing Streak...

...Halted

PBDKT T-Team halted their losing streak of three consecutive matches last night with a 2-0 win over Super League leaders, Perak at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. The result saw The Buffaloes relinquishing their position to Kelantan who defeated Terengganu 2-1 in the 'East Coast Derby' played at the Sultan Mohamad IV Stadium in Kota Bharu.

T-Team who had done away with the service of the under-performing Zachariah Simukonda started aggressively in front of a few hundred spectators who decided to come to the stadium instead of watching the 'live' telecast of the 'East Coast Derby'.

Perak did not offer much in their play. Most of the time they would fire long balls into the opponent's area, trying to find the tall Lazar Popovic who would bring his team-mates into play with the second ball. They were also seen relying on Michal Kubala to produce his long distance shooting in order to breach the T-Team defence.

The home side seemed comfortable in neutralizing these threats with Bojan Petric being commanding in defence with Norfazly Alias. After a scoreless first half, it took only eleven minutes for the stale-mate to be broken.

T-Team forced a series of corners and from of of these set-pieces saw Petric heading home from close range after the initial header by Faiz Subri was blocked on the line by a Perak player. It was the Bosnian first competitive goal in Malaysia.

Perak should have been more aggressive after going a goal down but their lack of creativity proved to be their downfall. Then two minutes from time, referee Suhaizi Shukri awarded a rather soft penalty to T-Team after Perak defender, Muhamad Shahrom was jusdged to have brought down T-Team substitute, Khairul Izwan inside the penalty area.

Skipper Zairo Anuar Zalani stepped up and had no problem beating Nasril Nourdin to score his seventh goal of the season, keeping him on top of the goal-scorers' charts. His team meanwhile climbed one spot to sixth.

Meanwhile in Kota Bharu, the home fans had to wait until the 37th minute before seeing their team going ahead. Even then Norshahrul Idlan Talaha's goal had a large slice of luck going with it as his shot was going away from goal until it hit Terengganu skipper Mazuki Yusof in the abdomen and went into the net, with Sharbinee Allawee already committed.

Then in the 52nd minute The Stags went two goals ahead went a quick counter-attack saw the ball being delivered into the penalty area where Indra Putra Mahyuddin headed the cross into the path of his skipper, Badhri Radzi who had the simple task of heading the ball into the net.

The Turtles tried to stage a fightback but could only score as the match went into stoppage time when Ashaari Shamsuddin's side-footed effort went in off the bar, spoiling Khairul Fahmi's effort to keep a clean sheet against the 'Old Enemy'.

At the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, Lions XII went up to fourth after defeating Negeri Sembilan 3-1. Two goals by their skipper, Shahril Ishak in the 31st and 60th minutes sandwiched Shahdan Sulaiman's strike in the 50th minute. Mohamad Firdaus Azizul replied for The Deers in the 90th minute.

Perhaps the night's biggest upset was Selangor 2-0 loss against PKNS FC at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya. It was The Red Giants' second defeat of the season while goals from former Selangor player, Rudie Ramlie on the half hour mark and Helmi Remeli on the hour mark saw the club side registering their first win of the season.

In Kuching, Sarawak used their home advantage to beat Felda United 2-1. It was The Crocs second win of the season. Goals from Vedran Muratovic and Asri Chuchu won them the match despite Firdaus Faudzi reducing the deficit for The Settlers.

Home advantage did not come into the picture when Kuala Lumpur took on Kedah at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka. The City Boys remained the only team without a win this season when Johor FC beat them 2-0. Former T-team striker, Haris Safwan Kamal opened his account for The Bees in the sixth minute before Jasazrin Jamaluddin confirmed all three points seven minutes from time.

...

PKNS...

...Again!

Terengganu who lost their previous match away to Betaria FC were looking forward to get back on the winning track against PKNS FC in their 2012 President Cup campaign. However they fell to their second successive defeat as the team from Klang Valley came away from Kuala Terengganu with a 1-0 win.

It was the second time in a short period of time a PKNS team inflicted a disappointing result on Terengganu as a few days ago their seniors held The Turtles to a 1-1 draw in their Super League encounter.

Meanwhile, PBDKT T-Team did not have much problem in disposing Melodi Jaya Johor Bahru with a flattering 4-1 scoreline for their second consecutive away victory.


...

Turtles Held...

...and T-Team Lost Again

It was a disappointing night for Terengganu football fans as both their teams failed to register a win in their 2012 Super Laeague matches. Buoyed by their win in Singapore in the last match, they expected all three points would come The Turtles' way when they take on PKNS FC at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium.

Instead they have to content with just a point after their former player, Helmi Remeli scored for the visitors early in the second half on his return to Kuala Terengganu to cancel the home side first half lead.

A wonderful strike from a free-kick in the 36th minute by skipper Zairo Anuar Zalani gave PBDKT T-Team the lead against Negeri Sembilan in Paroi. However they could not hold on to the lead as Effa Owona's thunderous free-kick found its way past the defensive wall and left Iqbal Suhaimi helpless in the T-Team's goal just as the match was heading towards the interval.

Then in the 68th minute Ahmad Shakir stole in unmarked into t-Team's penalty area to head home a cross from by Shahruain Abu Samah. It was T-Team third successive defeat and unless they could start winning again, their good start to the season would mean nothing.


In Kuala Terengganu, The Turtles could play their usual attacking game as PKNS adopted a defensive approach in stifling their opponents attacks. In addition the midfield combination of Shukur Jusoh and Baiano was not on the same wavelength as a number of passes went astray.

The home fans had their heart at their mouth when PKNS Mohamad Azrif headed home past Sharbinee Allawee. Much to their relief however, the linesman had raised his flag for offside.

Then with the match heading towards the break, Joseph Kalang Tie's hard-work paid off when he managed to save the ball and delivered a cross into the box which found its way to Francis Doe. The Terengganu topscorer took the ball wonderfully with his chest before unleashing a volley past PKNS goalkeeper, Razi Effendi.

Going into the break with just a goal lead, Terengganu fans knew their team had to score again to ensure all three points would go their way. Unfortunately, their worst fear became a reality when Helmi headed home from a free-kick just minutes after the restart of the second half.

The visitors packed their defence even tighter after the going level and tried as hard as they might, Terengganu just could not find their way past Razi Effendi again. Terengganu would have gone on top of the table had they won as Kelantan were held to a scoreless draw in Kota Kinabalu by Sabah.

Instead, it was Perak who went on top after The Buffaloes defeated Sarawak in their encounter at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh. Michal Kubala and Fahrul Razi were the scorers for the home side while Vedran Muratovic replied for The Crocs from the penalty spot.

Terengganu dropped to third in the Super League table while Negeri Sembilan remained in fourth position. T-Team meanwhile found themselves in seventh spot as the Lions XII went past them after holding Selangor to 1-1 draw at the Nasional Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

The match came to life in the last two minutes of the first half when Lions XII skipper, Shahril Ishak put his team ahead a a simple finish only to see Gurusamy equalising for the Red Giants two minutes later with a stiff shot.

Johor FC and Felda United shared the spoils at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Stadium. Spectators who attended the match had to wait until eight minutes from time when The Bees' Mohamad Syazwan Zainon opened the scoring. However the lead lasted only three minutes when Mohamad Azrul scored to level the score which remained until the final whistle.

Kedah meanwhile registered their first win of the season when they defeated Kuala Lumpur 1-0 at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka. The Canaries struck early when Khyril Muhymeen found the City Boys' net just after six minutes and they held on to claim their end their winless streak.


...

Day of Defeats...

...for the Youngsters

Both Terengganu representatives in the 2012 President Cup tournament lost in their second outings this afternoon.

PBDKT T-Team in their first home match, lost to Sime Darby FC 2-0 at the State Sports Complex in Gong Badak. While Terengganu on their first match on the road could not hold on to their lead against Betaria FC in Tampin, eventually losing 2-1.


...

Congratulations...

...Ally & Farah

Taking a break from sports, mad redo1 attended Ally Iskandar and Farah Lee reception at the Tok Jembal Golf Resort, Kuala Terengganu.

Not as a photographer, but more as a guest.


Being a celebrity wedding there were a huge crowd and everybody was trying to get their own snaps of the couple, who co-incidently joined another couple (Ally's sister and her husband) during the reception.

The couples looked radiant as they walked on the pathway to the main tent. Who wouldn't be, entering a whole new world with high hopes, great expectations and endless possibilities of more happiness to come.

Of course, in life not everything will always be on the up side but why why bother with the downs on this happy night.

The food was good. mad redo1 did not bother to join throng of other guests under the main tent, instead enjoying the open air at the fringe of things.

To both couples, congratulations!


...

Good Start...

...for the Lads


The 2012 President Cup tournament began today with Terengganu beating Pulau Pinang 2-0 in their opening match held at the State Sports Complex in Gong Badak. In Kedah, PBDKT T-Team defeated the home side 1-0 in their encounter.


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