Turtles Despair in Selayang

Sime Darby FC wrote themselves into the record books as the first club side to qualify for the FA Cup final after knocking out holders Terengganu in the semi-final last night. A goalless draw at the rain soaked Selayang Stadium was enough for them to see off The Turtles whom they defeated 2-1 in Kuala Terengganu in the first leg.

After thrashing Song Lam Nghe An 6-2 in their last match and a five day gap between the matches, many Terengganu fans were expecting their team to do a comeback at Selayang where they need to keep a clean sheet and score at least two goals to qualify for the final.

However, judging from their display in the opening minutes it would be a miracle for that to happen. In fact it was the home side which threaten to score first with a stinging shot by Faiz Isa forced Sharbinee Allawee into action.

Terengganu were woken up by this and they started to pressure the Sime Darby defence. Then as the match was nearing its quarter of an our mark, Francis Doe managed to bundle the ball into the net following a corner but the referee ruled it out due to an earlier infringement.

The ball was in Terengganu possession for the majority of the first half but they could not do much with it as they lacked creativity to open up the Sime Darby defensive line. Most of their shots were off targets making the job easier for Redzuan Harun in the Sime Darby goal.

Just after the half hour mark, the lone striker for the home team, Yusof Zainal nearly put The Turtles mission to sleep when he robbed Mazlizam Mohamad off the ball but he lacked the composure to finish the opportunity allowing Sharbinee to easily save his weak shot at goal.

In the 37th minute Terengganu were awarded a free-kick after a foul on Ismail Faruqi. Ashaari Shamsuddin's effort cleared the defensive wall but much to the disappointment of the travelling supporters, the ball hit the post and went out of play.

Then as the match was nearing the interval, Doe was presented with another chance from a corner but instead of just cushioning the ball into the net, he decided to force it home with his head, causing the ball to fly over the bar.

Five minutes after the restart a sight most Terengganu fans did not want to see unfolded as Doe was taken off due to an injury and coming on to replace him was Ailim Fahmi. Many of them knew at this moment the mountain they were climbing just gotten higher.

The match progressed on and Terengganu display showed they were bereft of any ideas on how to penetrate the Sime Darby defence who were contented to let their opponents coming at them and tried to hit on the break.

The introduction of Razali Umar Kandasamy to replace Yusof Zainal was a step in the right direction as the former Perak striker physical side of the game caused problems for the Terengganu defence. By the end of the match he would have at least three shots saved by Sharbinee whose display kept his side in the contest.

In the end the better team went through to the final and Terengganu knew they were not good enough this time around to keep their hands on the trophy they won in a dramatic fashion last season.

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