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.
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