Right...

...to the Wire!

As a Ganuan mad redo1 was hoping to see Terengganu winning their maiden Super League title this season. However, prior to the kick-off of the last round of matches in the 2011 Super League season, he realised that The Turtles only had a small percentage of chances of doing that.

Three points behind leaders Kelantan and two behind Selangor the only way the Super League title coming to Kuala Terengganu was by hoping Saba

h to win against The Stags and Selangor were unable to get a win in Ipoh against Perak. Terengganu also needed to do their part of the bargain by winning big against Felda United at Kelana Jaya.

How mad redo1 wished he could be there to capture the moment but it was the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium for him to cover the T-Team versus Kuala Lumpur match.

With the Terengganu club side already assured of their place in the Super League, the match was more significant for the City Boys who were third from bottom and needed to get at least a draw in Kuala Terengganu.

Thus it was no surprise when they raced to a two goal lead in the first half through Mohamad Badrul Hisyam Azmi. However Indra Putra Mahyuddin reduced the deficit towards the end of the period through a header from a corner.

In the second half Kuala Lumpur restored their two goal lead when Badrul completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot, even though T-Team goalkeeper, Ismail Abdul Rahman managed to save the initial kick the striker maintained his cool and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper, whose error gifted Kuala Lumpur their second goal in the first half.

Substitute Shamsul Kamal made the scoreline 3-2 towards the end of the match and despite some late pressure T-Team could not find their way past Kuala Lumpur defence again, condemning them to the thirteenth defeat of the season.

Meanwhile in Kelana Jaya, Terengganu raced to a 4-1 half-time lead with goals coming from Reeshafiq Alwi, Abdul Manaf Mamat and a brace by Abdul Hadi Yahya. However news coming in from Kota Kinabalu were not that rosy as The Stags had taken the lead against Sabah.

It turned out that tonight was not just about the race to become the 2011 league champions but also the race to win the golden boot. Malaysian internationals Hadi of Terengganu and Kelantan's Norshahrul Idlan Talaha were neck to neck to become 2011 topscorer, an award won by Terengganu's Ashaari Shamsuddin in 2010.

Then in the second half, Hadi found something extra and found the Felda United's net twice to make it twenty goals to his name and ensuring the golden boot would make its way to Terengganu again.

At the end of the night, The Turtles could not overhaul The Stags which were crowned as Super League Champions for the first time while Terengganu finished in their highest ever position since the start of the Super League, as runners-up which was an improvement from last season's third place. Selangor finished third after being held to a goal-less draw by Perak.

The immediate attention for Malaysian football fans would be the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against Singapore on the 21 and 28 of July. Then it will be a break for Ramadhan before the Malaysia Cup tournament begin a week after Aidil-Fitri in September.

To Terengganu, CONGRATULATIONS FOR A GOOD SEASON!

...

Turtles at the Top...

...even it was for a Short Time Only.

Terengganu went to the top of the Super League table for the first time this season after this hard fought victory over Felda United at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah last night. The position could shift after the completion of the weekend's programme with the top draw being title contenders Selangor entertaining Perak at the Shah Alam Stadium.

For The Turtles, the match against The Settlers was certainly a tough one with it coming just two days after the mental sapping 'Turtle' derby against PBDKT T-Team. Striker Abdul Hadi Yahya who was Terengganu's hero during the match with a fine goal, proved to be a match-winner once again with another wonderful strike just after over an hour of play.

This came after the visitors had managed to continually frustrate the home team with their pressing game and aided by Turtles who looked lethargic throughout. Terengganu players failed to display their usual passing game and with almost all moves broke down at one stage or the other.

The Settlers could consider themselves unlucky not to go two goals ahead in the first half when they hit the woodwork twice, the closest was when Bobby Chin pounced on a loose ball after Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee had parried a long range shot by Azrul Ahmad.

They even had the ball in The Turtles' net towards the end of the first half but former Terengganu player, Liew Kit Kong's effort was not counted as the referee's assistant had risen his flag for offside against Azrul during the move. Sharbinee was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers on the pitch.

In the second half Terengganu began to pull themselves together and began to look dangerous. However the Felda defence stood their ground and managed to repel these attacks.

The moment that turned the match around came in the 62nd minute when Felda failed to clear their line properly. When Joseph Kalang found Hadi with a lot of space, the striker had nothing but goal on his mind as he struck a right foot shot which dipped into the top corner, beating Felda goalkeeper, Hamsani Ahmad all the way.

The Turtles tried to increase their lead but in the end had to settle for this single goal victory which was enough to propel them to the Super League summit, even it was just for a twenty four hour period, at least for the time being.

Reflecting on the match, Terengganu Head Coach, Irfan Bakti admitted that his players were not at their best last night. Many were suffering from fatigue especially after playing in the 'Turtle' derby against T-Team. As one could have expected, playing in derby matches could take a lot on players.

Furthermore the way the fixtures are arranged by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) competition committee, it is certainly far from ideal for good quality football to be played throughout the season. The current fixture which started on 2 April (after the international break) teams will play one match every three days until 24 May. A total of 16 matches in 50 days.

Unless a team has a good strength in depth in their squad, any hope of consistently producing top class performance would be out of question. This is an aspect that FAM have to take note in order to increase the quality of football in this country.

For Terengganu fans, let enjoy this moment and hope it will last till the end of the season.


...

Great Comeback...

...in Kuantan

It is very rare for mad redo1 to be able to cover away matches for either Terengganu or PBDKT T-Team as they would be playing on the same night, alternating home and away fixtures between the two teams. Thus most of the time mad redo1 will be covering the one playing at home.

Thus when the Pahang versus Terengganu fixture was re-arranged to be on different nights, mad redo1 grabbed the opportunity straight away to follow the Turtles to Kuantan.

With the two teams are scheduled to meet in the FA Cup semi-final in the middle of May, this match is seen as some sort of a dress rehearsal to that encounter.

Terengganu which salvaged a point against Negeri Sembilan in Paroi on Saturday after going behind to an early goal, found themselves in a similar situation at the Darul Makmur. A mazy run inside the box by from the right led to a goal for the home side scored by Fazli Baharudin just after four minutes.

After the goal, it was almost all Terengganu but a combination of good goalkeeping and wayward shooting by Terengganu players kept Pahang in the lead. Towards the end of the first half, Ashaari Shamsudin managed to put the ball into the Pahang net but his effort was ruled offside.

The Malaysian international continued his hard work and as the match was about to enter stoppage time found Abdul Manaf Mamat with a deft pass. The striker who scored the equaliser against Negeri Sembilan on Saturday put the ball past Pahang goalkeeper, Suffian Abdul Rahman, sending Terengganu fans in the stands into raptures.

The two teams went to the dressing rooms at the interval on level terms. The score did not last long. Just ten minutes into the second half, Ismail Faruqi floated a cross from the right and without breaking a stride, Ashaari connected with it using the outside of his left foot.

It was a breathtaking strike worthy of the 'Goal of the Season' award (seriously, this award has to be created soon) and one that would linger on the memory of Terengganu fans for a long time.

Terengganu continued to dominate but could not convert their dominance into goals as chance after chance went a-begging.

The situation was not ideal for the Terengganu fans as they feared Pahang could snatch a late equaliser which could bring the morale of the Terengganu players down. Fortunately, skipper Marzuki Yusof and his partner, Hasmizan Kamarodin marshalled the defence well to keep Pahang players at bay.

The Turtles climbed into fourth place, level on points with Felda United but with a slightly better goal difference.

For mad redo1 it was a worthwhile trip to Kuantan.




...

Turtles Through...

...to the Last Four

Having done a good job in Ipoh last Tuesday, Terengganu completed the turn-around against Perak at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night with a 3-1 win. Goals from Reeshafiq Alwi, abdul Manaf Mamat and Abdul Hadi Yahya ensured The Turtles date with Pahang in the last four in May.

However, the match was in danger of being not played at all when circuit problems caused the floodlights to fail a number of times. However match officials decided to give it a go and the match went underway, albeit a few minutes off the scheduled kick-off time.

The home side made their intention clear from the start with Joseph Kalang Tie fired in a free kick from the right which was cleared in the second minute. Then his fellow Sarawakian Reeshafiq Alwi saw his shot from outside the box blocked by the Perak defence.

However, as the match entered its sixth minute, the light went out again much to the dismay of thousands of fans that throng the old stadium. The stadium was lit only by the light from the 'Supermoon' that made its once in 29 years appearance that night.

The likelihood of the match being postponed and played the next day was high. It could be a disaster for the home team. Fortunately, the match officials, much to their credit decided to give it another go when the lights was restored, perhaps thinking of a postponement would bring much anger to the fans.

Terengganu continued where they left prior to the blackout. The Perak defence had to be alert to stop a shot from Hadi and a minute later Ashaari Shamsudin broke through on the lft before squaring the ball to Manaf who could not direct his shot on target.

Perak continued to hold strongly while launching several attacks on their own but the Terengganu defence, led by skipper Marzuki Yusof who missed the first leg through injury was up to the task in quelling the visitors' attacks.

Goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin denied Hadi a goalscoring chance when he was quick enough to dive at the striker's feet after he was put through into the box in the 32nd minute.

Then six minutes before the interval Joseph Kalang delivered an inch perfect cross from the right and Reeshafiq stole between two Perak defenders to direct it past Nasril for the goal that put The Turtles in the driving seat.

They could go through on away goals rule if the score stayed the same till the end of the match. But Terengganu continued to press and with Perak having to attack to ensure their survival in the competition, they could exploit any gaps in the visitors' defence.

The sky opened up just when the match was about to end for the interval. The fans were soaked wet by the downpour but that did not dampen their support and the players responded well by continuing to press Perak, hitting the bar in the process.

Then six minutes after the restart Terengganu went ahead for the first time in the tie when Manaf blasted the ball from outside the penalty box and it went in at Nasril's near post. Terengganu were 4-3 ahead on aggregate.

The goal led to a spirited fightback by Perak who forced a succession of free-kicks around the Terengganu penalty area. Fortunately for the home fans the defence stood firm and goalkeeper Sharbinee Allawee was alert enough to palm away a curling effort which was going on target.

However he could do nothing when fifteen minutes from time Perak striker, Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli levelled the aggregate score when his powerful shot from another free-kick hit the back of the net, despite Sharbinee managed to put a hand to it.

Terengganu still had the away goal advantage but they could not afford to just sit back and defend as another goal by Perak would knock them out from the competition. Joseph Kalang proved to be the torn in Perak's flesh all night with his tireless running and passing.

With just over ten minutes to go his pass put Hadi through and the striker shrugged off the challenge from two Perak defenders before stroking the ball past the diving Nasril, The Turtles were ahead again and they only needed to hold on for the remainder of the match.

For his effort throughout the match Joseph Kalang should have a goal to his name but it was not to be. He managed to create a chance for himself but could not keep his shot down.

With just a minute to go a stupid action by a section of the home fans saw the referee, Nagor Amir Noor Mohamad stopped the match. An object that was thrown by a fan had hit the referee assistant and this could see Terengganu being fined heavily by FAM.

More seriously, the match could be stopped which would be detrimental to Terengganu's cause.

Again, the referee decided to go on with the match after a while. There were four minutes of added minutes and during which Manaf and Ashaari tried their luck from afar but could not find the back of the net.

The four minutes went slowly for Terengganu fans but in the end the players prevailed and managed to hold on to the 3-1 scoreline as Perak tried their best to force extra-time with another goal.

Terengganu will play Pahang in an all east coast affair in the last four. The Elephants were held to a scoreless draw by Kuala Lumpur on Friday to advance on a 2-1 aggregate. The other semi-final will feature Selangor and Kelantan who overcame Johor and Felda United respectively with identical 5-2 aggregate victory.

RESULTS:

Pahang 0 Kuala Lumpur 0 (Pahang won 2-1 on aggregate)
Terengganu 3 Perak 1 (Terengganu won 5-4 on aggregate)
Johor 1 Selangor 2 (Selangor won 5-2 on aggregate)
Felda United 0 Kelantan 3 (Kelantan won 5-2 on aggregate)

2011 FA CUP SEMI-FINALS

Pahang vs Terengganu
Selangor vs Kelantan

The semi-finals are scheduled for 13 and 16 of May 2011.

...

Good Job...

...in Ipoh

It was not the best of results but it was not the worst either. Terengganu lost the first leg of their FA Cup quarter-final tie against Perak 3-2 at the Perak Stadium last night. The home side took the lead going into the fifteenth minute of play through Isma Alif Mohamad Salim but Terengganu striker, Abdul Manaf Mamat restored parity five minutes before the interval.

The match was evenly balanced for most of the second half but a three minutes spell eleven minutes from time saw Perak sitting comfortably in front with goals from Mohamad Fazrul Hazli Mohamad Kadri (79th) and Akmal Rizal Mohamad Rakhli (83rd) gave the home fans the feel good feeling for the second leg on Saturday.

However, Terengganu midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi's 90th minute strike reduced the gap to just a single goal, which meant The Turtles only need a single goal victory in Kuala Terengganu to go through to the last four of the competition.

Many Terengganu fans are feeling confident that their team will be able to do the necessary when the second leg starts this Saturday.

In other matches, Super League leaders Kelantan and Felda United battled to a 2-2 draw in Kota Bahru with goals coming from Zamri Chin and Liew Kit Kong for The Settlers while skipper Badri Radzi and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scored for the home side as Kelantan failed to win for the second successive time.

The two sides will meet again on the same venue on Saturday for the second leg as the KLFA Stadium is still unavailable for football matches.

Another side which had to play their home match away from home was Kuala Lumpur. The City Boys 'entertained' Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium but fell behind when Amirul Ashraf Sayuti scored for the 'visitors' after half an hour.

Kuala Lumpur equalised through Ahmad Azlan Zainal ten minutes after the break but Pahang took a huge advantage for their home tie this Saturday when Azamuddin Akil netted their second in the 64th minute.

In the only tie involving team from the Premier League, Super League champions Selangor easily defeated Johor 3-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium. Hardi Jaafar, Rudie Ramli and Amri Yahyah found the back of the Johor net as the Red Giants looked like strolling to the last four.

However Mohamad Alif Mohamad Yusof pulled one back for the southerners to give them a glimmer of hope for the second leg tie in Johor Bahru.

RESULTS:

FA CUP QUARTER-FINALS, FIRST LEG

KUALA LUMPUR 1 vs PAHANG 2
PERAK 3 vs TERENGGANU 2
SELANGOR 3 vs JOHOR 1
KELANTAN 2 vs FELDA UNITED 2


...

Canaries Pecked Turtles...

...Again!

Terengganu suffered their second defeat of the season when Kedah staged a comeback at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar on Saturday night. Midfielder Reeshafiq Alwi opened his goal account for The Turtles after half an hour of play with a stunning volley from outside the penalty box.

However, Terengganu who playing without the injured skipper Marzuki Yusof in defence could not contain the home side attack and two quick goals from Khyrel Muhymeen and former Turtle, Firdaus Faudzi in a four minutes spell in the 64th and 67th minutes brought back the cheers to the home side, whose team was under the supervision of Radhi Mat Din for the first time after Ahmad Yusof was given his 'leave'.

In Kuala Terengganu, PBDKT T-Team and Perak could not lift themselves to find the rhythm to display good football in front of the home crowd, which totalled to less than a thousand, perhaps influenced by the rain that has been coming down for the past few days.

In a dour match, unbeaten Perak were let down by their poor finishing. Their best chance came midway through the first half when their striker, having beaten goalkeeper, Syamsuri Mustafa could only send the ball into the side-netting.

The best chance for T-Team came towards the end of the first half during an a spell which saw they dominated the match, striker Haris Safwan's effort was cleared off the line by the Perak defence.

In the end, both teams had to settle for a nil-nil scoreline.

Terengganu and Perak dropped to fifth and fourth respectively in the Super League table after this round of fixtures. Kedah climbed to eighth while T-Team remained second from bottom of the table.

On the night which saw leaders Kelantan's unbeaten record came to an end in Kuantan, it was a big opportunity for Perak take the lead at the top of the table. However, as it turned out Kelantan remained at the top of the pile but now they were joined by last season Premier League champions, Felda United and defending Super League champions, Selangor on fourteen points.

Pahang registered their third win to climb to sixth, even though for many it was rather unexpected against the high riding Stags. Negeri Sembilan's season turned for the worse after their home defeat against Selangor, which would turn more heat on coach Wan Jamak.

Johor FC and Kuala Lumpur played to a scoreless draw the day before and the match between Sabah and Harimau Muda 'A' was postponed due to unplayable pitch even though there were reports of the match being awarded to the Young Tigers.

...

Bees Swatted...

...by Turtles.

Terengganu recorded their third win in their 2011 Super League campaign after defeating Johor FC 3-0 at the Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium last night. The win lifted The Turtles to third in the table behind unbeaten leaders Kelantan and second placed Perak.

Irfan Bakti boys were straight into attack mode right from the start and their efforts paid off in the sixth minute when a long ball by Ismail Faruqi from inside his own area found forward Ashaari Shamsudin on the left.

He then made a low delivery into the box where striker Abdul Hadi Yahya had timed his run to perfection to slot in his fifth goal this season in all competitions. It was also the fifth match in a row the former T-Team striker scored for his new team.

Seven minutes later Ashaari was fouled on the left and referee Ku Alauddin Ku Muhammad awarded the home side a free-kick. Spotting Johor FC goalkeeper, Mohamad Anis Faron was quite far away from his goal, Terengganu midfielder Ismail Faruqi just lobbed the ball over his head.

The custodian perhaps was anticipating a cross rather than a shot, which left him stranded in no man's land.

Joseph who worked hard throughout the match saw a number of his shots saved or blocked by the visitors defence. The closest he came to scoring was in the 69th minute when he blocked an attempted clearance made by Anis. Much to the goalkeeper's relief it went just wide of his goal frame.

Terengganu continued to press with Ashaari and substitute Ahmad Nordin attempted their luck from distance.

Then in the 77th minute Joseph was once again fouled just outside the box. In a move from a training ground routine Terengganu defender Nik Zul Aziz Nawawi nearly scored his first goal for The Turtles but could not keep his shot down.

Two minutes later Terengganu had their third goal when Hadi found Saha at the edge of the box. The forward let fly and despite the attention from a Johor FC defender the ball flew in past Anis who clearly had a miserable time in Kuala Terengganu last night.

Nine minutes from time another Terengganu defender Helmi Remeli tried his luck from an acute angle, attempting to lob Anis from outside the box but he could not keep his shot down.

The Bees had lost their sting and the match was just played out with neither side able to breach each others' goal again.

Meanwhile at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya, PBDKT T-Team (T-Team) could not build on their win over Perlis on Saturday when they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat against Felda United. Goals by Faderin Kadir and Bobby Chin were enough to condemn T-Team to their fourth defeat of the season.

Last night results saw Terengganu climbed back to third they occupied briefly on Friday, level on points with Selangor and Felda United but with better goal difference. T-Team meanwhile dropped back to the bottom two after Sabah managed to avoid defeat in their match against Pahang but it was Johor FC who occupied the place above T-Team.



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