MALAYSIAN SUPER LEAGUE 2010 - Preview - Matchday 6 - Jan 26

PERAK VS KELANTAN (in Ipoh 2-3, in Kota Bahru 0-4)
Kelantan’s coach B.Sathiananthan finally has something to smile about after the 4-1 weekend thrashing of Johor FC, following a turbulent start his side has had in the Super League.

Calls for his head to roll, now have abated for the time being, and confidence has been restored to the Red Warriors, though the same could not be said of their former national goalkeeper Syed Adney, who bore the brunt of the management and fans anger in the loss to Kedah, having been benched in the victory against the Bee’s, in favour of the recalled Halim Napi who was fielded despite hanging up his boots after the Malaysia Cup final defeat last season.

Sathia will also be pleased that he has finally found the right offensive combination for deployment in the Johor FC encounter, and will probably be sticking to the second half line-up that paid plenty of dividends, which includes the veteran 39 year old Halim in goal once more, though Norshahrul Idlan Talaha who bagged his first goal in Kelantan colours against Johor FC and Norfarhan Mohammed, who opened his accounts this season in that victory, are doubtful for the away trip to Ipoh.

Perak meanwhile will be hoping to stun the visitors just as they did when playing Kedah in Alor Setar three days ago.  Razali Kandasamy will once again be the trump card for coach Raja Azlan in seeking a point at least.

However, Perak have yet to register a single point at home, with defeats to Terengganu and Perlis, having only scored one goal at home.

Last season in the Super League, the Red Warriors got the better of the Seladang’s on both occasions.

Prediction : The win over the Bee’s was no flash in the pan.  Kelantan to rock once more!
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NEGERI SEMBILAN VS TERENGGANU

The local press are going a gaga over Terengganu’s hammering of Selangor last Saturday, and the Turtles rightly so deserve their credit.

Irfan Bakti timed his pre-match announcements to perfection when he proclaimed that Terengganu would ended Selangor’s unbeaten record, but little did he expect them to end up embarrassing the Red Giants in their backyard again.

The experienced coach who led troubled Perlis to the runner-up spot behind Selangor in last season’s race, is a happy man with everything working to perfection in Terengganu.  His attacking force comprising of Manaf Mamat, Ashaari Shamsuddin and Joseph Kallang Tie are banging in the goals, while at the back, Terengganu marshaled by skipper Marzuki Yusof, Helmi Ramli, Ronny Harun, Muhaimin Omar and National keeper Sharbinee Allawee, have been stingy, conceding only twice in five matches.  Their midfield led by vice-captain Zairo Anuar is also doing its job well and they are just a point behind leaders Selangor in the standings, and remain the only unbeaten side in the League.

However, Negeri Sembilan are a different kettle of fish and going by past record the Turtles certainly do not relish challenges in Seremban.  Both teams met six times last season, twice in the League and four times in the Malaysia Cup including the semifinals, and on all four occasions in the Malaysia Cup, the Deers prospered.  Terengganu only won the League fixture at home, with the corresponding tie in Seremban ending in a draw, though it was Ken Worden who was helming the Turtles then.

Wan Jamak has come out in the open saying that this is not the best time to face Irfan Bakti’s boys who are on a roll, but Negeri will be the fresher of the two, following the postponement of their match against Pahang last Saturday as a mark of respect to the passing of the Sultan of Johor.

The Southerners also finally registered their first win the last time they took to field in Paroi, and confidence is slowly returning to the Malaysia Cup champions.  They also welcome back Shukor Adan who missed the win against PLUS due to suspension.  What remains to be decided is who does Wan partner the misfiring Zaquan Adha, who has yet to break his duck this season, upfront?

Prediction : Negeri to slam the brakes on Terengganu.  We’ll go for a draw!
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SELANGOR VS JOHOR

K.Devan is an angry man.  The 4-0 away thrashing at the hands of Terengganu last Saturday does not augur well for his side in their bid to keep the Super League title in the Red/Yellow part of Klang Valley.

Nevertheless, despite the defeat, last seasons treble winners, continue to helm the table, leading by a point from Terengganu and their next opponent, Johor, will be made to eat humble pie when the injured tiger goes on a rampage tonight.  As even teams like Manchester United or Barcelona can have an off day, what is more important is for Selangor to bounce back strongly following this disappointment.

Devan singled out his attackers comprising of Safee Sali, Amri Yahyah, Amurulhadi Zainal and Hardi Jaafar and together with his defenders, at fault for the debacle in Kuala Terengganu and has promised to ring in the changes in this show of strength against bottom of the table Scorpions, but supersub R.Surendran will be missing after injuring his hamstring against Terengganu.

However, he can take comfort that the humiliating loss occurred early in the season, and he still has plenty of time to fix this Selangor back into title worthy contenders, but it is no hidden secret that Selangor have not been playing  to the standards one is used to seeing them set, despite their high flying start in winning the first four matches in the season.

Johor, who like Negeri Sembilan, did not play last Saturday as a mark of respect for the passing away of their Sultan, are fresher of the two sides, but in all honesty, Nasir Yusof’s side lack any real firepower to keep Selangor from claiming maximum points this evening.

It was encouraging that the Southerners finally halted their losing streak in holding Penang to a 1-1 draw in their last match, picking up their first point while scoring their first goal, but Selangor is just too much of an ask for the Johoreans.

Prediction : A big win for the Red Giants!
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T-TEAM FC vs PERLIS
Draw specialists T-Team are finding life in the Super League getting more and more complicated by the day.  They were expected to be amongst the most impressive of the three promoted sides, but are currently mired at second from bottom in the Super League.

While their results to date include holding powerhouses such as Terengganu and PLUS FC, their inability to bury ‘perceived’ weaker opposition such as Kuala Lumpur and Pahang, have cost them dearly.

Though not wanting to press the panic button yet, coach Che Marzuki must be worried with the goalrate of his striker led by last season’s Premier League top scorer Haris Safwan.  The Terengganu born player has had his fair share of critics, who categorise the university graduate as someone who is of Premier League standard, hence his struggles in the top division, but Marzuki attributes the strikers disappointing form to the new partnership with Hadi Yahaya.

Just as Negeri Sembilan and Johor, T-Team too have a slight advantage in preparations for this encounter against Perlis, since their match was postponed on Saturday as a mark of respect for the passing of the Sultan of Johor.

Perlis meanwhile have set a modest, probably too modest, of a target in obtaining a draw in this fixture.

Rookie coach Nidzam Adzha has done a wonderful job for the Northern Lions who have bounced back with three wins and a draw since losing on the opening day to Johor FC at home.

Though goals have been pretty difficult to com-by, when they do, they are well protected by the meanest defence in the League, that goal conceded to Johor FC on opening day remains the only strike that has passed Farizal Marlias in goal, as the Northern tip of Malaysia have yet to concede in 6 hours of football since then.

Confidence is going strong and the spirited display shown in the recent win over Penang at home only makes up for their lack of bite upfront, as the attacking pair of Azrul Ahmad and Fakri Saarani are still developing their instincts as strikers.

Prediction : We are more than happy to eat our words regarding Perlis before the season kicked-off. The Northern Lions to roar home with all points.
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PENANG VS KEDAH
Ahmad Yusof is wondering what is possibly wrong with his Kedah side that simply refuses to perform at home in Alor Setar, but is dependable when playing away.  However, he needs to put all those concerns aside as the Canaries make the short trip to neighbouring Penang for the Northern derby in Batu Kawan.

Victory is something that fifth placed Kedah must accomplish if they are to keep pace with the going on’s of the top section of the table that currently involve defending champions Selangor, Terengganu and last season’s runner-up Perlis.

Ahmad has attributed the Jekyll and Hyde difference of his team when playing home and away due to the lack of a natural leader on the pitch, with skipper Victor Andrag and vice captain Fauzi Shaari both still out injured, having missed all matches so far this season.

However, the Kedahans still possess a number of talented players, some of whom are part of the National Under-23 set-up, to make-up for the loss these two influential figures and stand-up to make themselves counted in motivating the entire squad..

The coach while praising Azlan Ismail, who has had a flying debut season for the Canaries so far, urged the Kelantanese born player to keep his position on top, and leave defensive duties to others, so that the former Terengganu hitman is able to take advantage of the counter-attacks launched by Kedah, while lurking in dangerous areas.

Penang meanwhile have a real battle to deal with if they are to come of this match with anything.  The Panthers were easily subdued by Perlis last Saturday, and disappointingly allowed Johor to snatch a draw in a fixture they should have won.

It has been quite a ritual for the islanders year in and year out to be caught in this relegation scrap and this season seems no different, though Mohamed Bakar’s young side is capable of pulling off an upset if they strike early.

Penang met Kedah on four occasions last season, and stunned the Canaries when playing in Alor Setar in the Malaysia Cup group stages, but lost all three other fixtures.

Prediction : With bragging rights at stake, Penang to surprise with a draw
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KUALA LUMPUR VS PAHANG
Kuala Lumpur by far are the best performing team amongst the promoted sides, despite finishing fourth in the Premier League last season compared to T-Team who finished second and Johor third.

Razip Ismail is doing some good work for the City Boys, in his own special way despite some labeling KL’s play resembling of Wimbledon, with their safety first aspect.

Such a policy has benefited them, and they have yet to concede a single goal in the past three matches which included opposition such as PLUS FC, Johor FC and Negeri Sembilan, since being hammered by champions Selangor on Matchday 2.

Pahang who similarly to Johor, T-Team and Negeri Sembilan, did not play last Saturday as a mark of respect for the passing of the Sultan of Johor, and this allowed Dollah Salleh a chance for his side to gain some much needed rest, and re-strategise following the hammering by Selangor in their last match played.

While the scoreline seemed flattering to the Red Giants, there were moments in the game that Selangor were made to look second best and if the Elephants had taken their chances, it would have been a different story to the outcome altogether.

This proves Pahang have the ability, perhaps not the experience, but in the Hawks, they would relish a challenge with a team of similar standards.

Prediction : Razip Ismail’s boys to nick it..with another clean sheet
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JOHOR FC vs PLUS FC
This all club encounter between the Bee’s and the Highwaymen has been postponed due to the mourning in the state of Johor, for the passing away of the Sultan of Johor.

Shamim Imran & Khairi Rizal
Planet Football