MALAYSIAN SUPER LEAGUE 2010 - Results Matchday 4, January 19
SELANGOR 4 PAHANG 0
Pick Of The Day
Matchday 4, and what better way can Selangor find than to mark it with a four goal trashing of fourth placed Pahang?
The visiting Elephants, riding high on a good slipstream of two wins from their three matches played thus far, were looking the more eager side to impose themselves on the field in the early exchanges. They even had the ball in the net in the 26th minute from Shahrizan Salleh, only for it to be ruled out for an apparent foul on Selangor goalkeeper Hamsani Ahmad when the former challenged him for the ball.
Like clockwork precision however, the Red Giants ticked into motion as Surendran Davaghan, making his first start on the right flank for the season, lets loose a 34th minute screamer from outside the box, which bumps into the arms of a desperate Azraie Wan Teh dive. That was all that it took to unlock the gates, as Safee Sali pounces on the loose ball to slot in Selangor’s first goal of the night and his third of the season.
The scene was then set for the red shirts to replicate their derby victory a week ago against Kuala Lumpur and like so many of their goals, captain Amri Yahyah again was to be involved. The 55th minute sees him with a devilish turn on the right hand side inside the Pahang box before squaring it all the way for Safiq Rahim to plunder in a near post stab past Azraie Wan to put Selangor two up.
The red and yellow party was only halfway done, even allowing for a 67th penalty miss by their rightback Razman Roslan, and who else should be the main attraction but supersub Surendren Rasiah coming off the bench for another Ole Gunnar Solksjaer impersonation? Fellow substitute Liew Kit Kong with a deft piece of control, flicked on a pass from the left in 76th minute which landed on Surendren’s foot for a point blank finish the No.23 simply could not miss.
Pahang were already thinking of home but Surendren Rasiah just could not resist giving them another souvenir from their travel to Shah Alam. Eight minutes from time, Amirulhadi Zainal one touches Safiq Rahim’s pass for Surendren to pounce onto inside the box, the one on one then promptly settled with the ball tucked neatly into the net for Selangor to grab their biggest win so far, of the season.
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T-TEAM 1 TERENGGANU 1
Terengganu lost ground on Selangor when they were held to a 1-1 draw against crosstown rivals T-Team FC during the Darul Iman derby at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium.
The animosity between the two side was prevalent before the kick-off, with the rivalry of the two local teams, and T-Team were playing mind games well with Irfan Bakti’s boys, clearly bragging their accomplishment of being the Kings in Kuala Terengganu, with their pre-season tournament victory over Terengganu in the Menteri Besar’s Cup.
It was a tale of two homegrown talents who got on the scoresheet that evening, with both gaining their second goals in the Super League this season. The nippy, Manaf Mamat, who was groomed by the opposite coach during his formative years spent at the Terengganu Football Academy, opened the scoring for the away side in the 71st minute, but the lead last for only 5 minutes, as Haris Safwan powerstruck shot almost ripped the goalnets, via the outstretchered arms of National custodian Sharbinee Alawee, who simply had no answer, to the equaliser from Che Ku Marzuki’s outfit.
While dropping points did not affect their position in the League, still remaining in second due to the shocking result endured by Johor FC, Terengganu have all to do in establishing their bid for the title when they welcome champion Selangor to their bumpy lair this weekend.
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PENANG 1 JOHOR 1
Nasir ‘The Professor’ Yusof’ finally halted his side’s losing streak since the opening day of the Super League campaign, holding Penang to an away draw in Batu Kawan.
However, it was narrow escape for the Johoreans who almost seemed certain in heading for their fourth straight loss, until up stepped much maligned skipper, Irfan Ghani, to rescue the Scorpions, three minutes from time, from the claw of the Panthers, whose Failee Ghazali, scored just a minute into the second half. Irfan had been receiving bad press lately from his top management, who had openly questioned in the media regarding Nasir’s decision to make him the leader of the pack. However, the defender responded on the pitch by doing a double of first’s, scoring the Southerners first goals in the Super League and gaining their first point too.
Penang meawhile, will be displeased for such a turnaround at a very late juncture in the match. This was definitely a case of two points lost for Mohamed Bakar’s side, who should have easily brushed aside the challenge posed by the last placed side in the table.
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PERAK 0 PERLIS 1
At the Perak Stadium in Ipoh, last season’s Super League runner-up Perlis were amongst the big winners of the day, moving up the standings into fourth place, following their expected, 1-0 win over homesters Perak.
Azrul Ahmad was once again the hero on their travels, delivering the only goal that separated the two sides, just as he did in Alor Setar against Kedah the week before, in the 74th minute of play. Nidzam Adzha’s boys so far have a perfect win record in their visits, with both scalps hailing from the Northern region.
For the Seladang’s, once more again, poor performances is being blamed as costing them this result. This is the second straight loss Raja Azlan has had to endure, and he has yet to endear himself to the loyal Perakians who have seen their team lose two in two at Ipoh, not including the shocking loss to Johor on opening day.
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KELANTAN 0 KEDAH 1
B.Sathiananthan’s star studded Kelantan once again fired blanks as the double Malaysia Cup and FA Cup losing finalist of last season, capsized unexpectedly to Kedah in Kota Bahru.
Their expensively assembled attacking force struggled in front of a demanding partisan home crowd, and the failure to score on Tuesday night, their third shutout in four matches, was compounded by conceding their first goal in the League this season that led to their first defeat.
Kelatanese born Azlan Ismail was the toast of the Canaries, capitalizing on goalkeeper Syed Adney’s comical mistake in the penalty box, kicking the ball which ricocheted off Azlan’s leg only to rebound into the net, four minute before the break for the winner. It was Azlan’s fourth goal in competition, following his hattrick against Johor on opening day.
Kedah’s win gives coach Ahmad Yusof much needed breathing space after a run of two straight home losses against Johor FC and Perlis, led many to question the rookie coach’s abilities in guiding the 2007 and 2008 treble winners, meanwhile for Sathiananthan who was supported well by Kelantan’s management during the transfer period, things could not have been going more wrong for him.
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JOHOR FC 0 KUALA LUMPUR 1
Johor FC also lost ground on leaders Selangor when they slipped to a shocking 1-0 loss against minnows Kuala Lumpur in Pasir Gudang.
Ramlan Rashid gamble to rest his key players like leftback Sumardi Hajalan and midfielder Wan Rohaimi backfired when Razip Ismail’s side stunned the Bee’s with Yong Kuong Yong opener on 18 minutes, heading home skipper Azidan Faruddin’s freekick, for the City Boys’ first win in their debut Super League season. The victory also marks the first victory from any of the three promoted sides including T-Team and Johor.
The visitors were then bombarded with Johor FC’s pacey attack, but held firm just as they did three days earlier against Negeri Sembilan. It was apparent from the start that the Hawks were eager to get the early goal, especially from deadball situations and when the strategy worked, it was down to setting up their stall and holding on to victory, something which they do very well.
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NEGERI SEMBILAN 2 PLUS FC 1
Malaysia Cup Negeri Sembilan finally registered maximum points with a come from behind win over big spending PLUS FC in Paroi.
The Deers who missed the influential Shukor Adan at the heart of defence due to suspension saw the Highwaymen seize the lead in the 71st minute off Nizaruddin Yusof, last season’s Golden Boot winner who finally broke his duck, but Firdaus Azizul emerged as the hero for Wan Jamak, equalizing twelve minutes later, and delivering a sucker punch winner against Mat Zan’s team, in the final minute of regulation time, condemning PLUS to their second straight loss, unavoidably calling into question their credibility as title contenders this season.
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Note : This article was originally prepared for Goal.com
Khairi Rizal & Shamim Imran
Planet Football
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