THT COMPLETE 'DOUBLE DOUBLE'

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) did the double for the second season running after winning the TNB Cup by defeating Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) 5-4 via penalty shootouts during the final played at the Bukit Jalil National Hockey Stadium last night.

Both teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation time after Faizal Saari had scored from a penalty corner for THT but two minutes later Razie Rahim levelled things up, also from a penalty corner routine.

KLHC goalkeeper, Roslan Jamaluddin played a blinder to deny more goals for THT and during the shootouts he continued to be a pivotal figure as he denied the Terengganu side from scoring easily.

However it was his counterpart, Mohamad Hafizuddin who became the hero after he denied Mohamad Syamim from scoring in the sudden death phase and THT added the cup to the Premier League title they won earlier, repeating the feat they did last year.

Apart from the RM70 thousand prize money, THT also won the Fairplay award and Faizal emerged as the tournament topscorer while his brother, Fitri was named as Player of the Tournament.

Roslan was named as the Goalkeeper of the Tournament for his displays throughout the 2015 TNB-MHL season.

TURTLES HELD IN MALAYSIA CUP OPENER

Terengganu did not get the good start they were wishing for last night when they were held to a goalless draw by JDT II at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Shah Stadium.

Missing the suspended Issey Nakajima the home side struggled to get past JDT II defence marshalled by Baihakki Kaizan and well supported by Mohamad Afiq.

Norshahrul Idlan Talaha was given the responsibility to lead the Terengganu attack with support coming from Ashari Samsuddin and Ismail Faruqi.

As usual, Gustavo Lopez was the centre of most Terengganu attacking moves but the packed away defence saw most of his passes failed to really open up the JDT II rearguard.

Fakhrurazi Musa, Norshahrul, Ashari and Lopez all saw their efforts on JDT II goal missing the target. In fact, the home side did not win a single corner kick in the first half while Nenad Bacina's boys managed to squeeze a few from their counter-attacks.

The second half saw the introductions of Sharin Sapien and Hafizal Mohamad for Fakhrurazi and Helmi Remeli respectively.

However it did not change the complexion of the match with Terengganu continue failing to really trouble the visitors' defence with their wayward shooting.

Sharbinee Allawee had to be on his best to deny two good shots by JDT II players from going past him and then had the fortune smiling on him when Shahril Ishak shot went past the wrong side of the post.

In stoppage time, the home fans thought they would be seeing the goal they have been waiting for when referee, Zulkifli Ahmad awarded Terengganu a penalty after Ahmad Nordin Alias was brought down in the penalty area.

It was The Turtles first penalty since May when Paolo Rangel won and converted a penalty during their FA Cup semi final, second leg match against the Lions XII.

With Rangel missing from the line-up due to his suspension when his aggressive behaviour against the match officials during that match, Lopez stepped up to the plate.

The Argentine chose precision over power. His effort was going in until JDT II goalkeeper, Zulfadhli managed to get his hand on it, pushing the ball against the post.

It then rolled agonisingly on the line before it was eventually cleared by a JDT II defender and the final whistle was blown immediately leaving more than 13 thousand home fans with a dejected feeling.

However Group A is still very much open as Fandi Ahmad also failed to get his Lions XII to win all three points at the Jalan Besar Stadium against Premier League champions, Kedah.

The Canaries took the lead with a screamer from Sandro Mendonca in the 15th minute but the home side levelled the score two minutes later through Shahdan Sulaiman.

Group B action had begun on Friday with JDT defeating Perak 2-0 at the Hassan Yunos Stadium with goals from Safee Sali and Chanturu Suppiah in the first half sealing the points for the Southern Tigers.

Last night a stoppage time goal by Joseph Kalang Tie gave Sarawak all three points against the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) at the State Stadium in Kuching.

In Group C, Felda United brushed aside T-Team 3-0 at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium with Ndumba Makeche's brace sandwiching Indra Putra Mahyuddin penalty.

However the form book was reversed at the Shah Alam Stadium when Kelantan registered a 3-0 win over Selangor.

Gilmar headed The Stags in front in the 26th minute. Four minutes into the second half, Augustine Iwuji increased the lead before Gilmar helping himself to his second after a scramble in front of the Selangor goal.

Meanwhile in Kuantan, Dickson Nwakaeme was the toast of the town when he came off the bench to score the winner for the defending champions against the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM).

A hattrick by Azammuddin Akil gave The Elephants a healthy 3-1 lead at the interval with Dramane Trade replying for the visitors.

However The Cops scored twice through brilliant freekicks by Ali Ashfaq and Jamie Braganca to level the score.

It looked like to have spoil the home side plan until Pahang head coach, Zainal Abidin Hassan decided to unleash Nwakaeme for the last ten minutes and it paid off handsomely.

At the Bandaraya Stadium, home side Penang never recovered from two quick goals by PKNS FC. Nazrin Syamsulbahri broke the deadlock in the 17th minute and a minute later Gabriel Guerra made it 2-0.

Nizam Abu Bakar scored the visitor's third nine minutes into the second half to leave The Panthers in tatters.

2015 MALAYSIA CUP DRAW

The draw for the 2015 Malaysia Cup group stage was carried out this afternoon at a hotel in Petaling Jaya and it has thrown a few interesting match ups between the qualified teams.

Group A

Terengganu is the seeded team here and they will have the FA Cup winners, Lions XII in the group as well as Premier League champions, Kedah. The team formerly known as Johor FA, JDT II complete the line-up.

The east coast side has met the Lions four times this season with two home victories registered over Fandi Ahmad boys and The Turtles snatching a point in the league at Jalan Besar.

The Lions XII only win over Terengganu was in the first leg of the FA Cup when they won 2-1. An extra motivating factor Ahmad Yusof boys is the fact that it was the Lions XII who knocked them out of the FA Cup on away goals' rule.

The Lions did make a trip to Kedah en route to their FA Cup victory with a 4-0 win over FAM League side, Kedah United in the second round.

They also saw off the challenge from JDT II in the quarter-final of the competition, winning both legs 2-0 for a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win.

Kedah meanwhile are the in form team right now, having chased and caught up with Terengganu clubside, T-Team Titans on their way to the second tier title.

With just three defeats in twenty five matches in all competitions this season, Tan Cheng Hoe will definitely feel confident his players can match their Super League counterparts.

However one of those defeats came at the hands of JDT II who shocked them with a 1-0 win at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar in the FA Cup.

Inconsistencies saw JDT II promotion push falter in the later stage of the season with three defeats and a draw in their last six matches saw them eventually finishing in fifth place, fourteen points adrift of champions, Kedah.

GROUP B

Super League champions, Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) are expected to stroll into the quarter-finals from the looks of things here.

Despite an all Super League teams making up the group, Perak and Sarawak finished in the bottom half of the table while the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) found themselves relegated to the Premier League.

The only thing that could help the trios are JDT's AFC Cup commitments which could end soon if they failed to get the required result in Hong Kong against South China FC.

Thus it will the race for the second spot from this group and the three of them seem to have equal chance of accompanying JDT to the knock-out phase.

One interesting point in this group however, is the on-going feud between JDT and Perak fans with the last incident happening after The Bos Gaurus 2-0 defeat to The Southern Tigers in Johor Bahru.

On their way back, the Perak supporters alleged they were attacked by JDT supporters who threw objects at their buses causing damages and injuries to some.

In the past, there have been a few incidents between the two sets of supporters that saw the intervention of the Police and one could expect them to happen again in the Malaysia Cup.

GROUP C

Selangor will continue with their Mission-33 this season and they look good in getting into the knock-out phase with either Felda United or Kelantan accompanying them.

However, that will depend on Mehmet Durakovic getting his tactics right against the wily Irfan Bakti who pushed The Red Giants all the way in during their two matches this season.

Felda United meanwhile will continue relying on Irfan's man-management skills to motivate his players to get the required results and with the experience of old horses like Indraputra Mahyuddin and Shukor Adan around they could edge it over Kelantan for a place in the last eight.

Kelantan are a shadow of their former self but they still possess enough quality in their squad to reverse the form book.

Players like Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, Badhri Radzi, Norfarhan Mohamad, Wan Zack Haikal, Wan Zaharulnizam and Fakri Saarani could deliver the goods on their day.

T-Team Titans are not expected to play other part than as spoilers in this group.

After losing influential figures like David Oniya who passed away in a friendly, ironically against Kelantan; and their topscorer, Farhod Tadjiev to a long term injury, The Titans simply fell apart.

They only managed to register three wins in their last ten matches and after leading the Premier League table found themselves pipped to the two promotion spots on the last day of the league season after losing to Kuantan FA in a must win battle.

GROUP D

This is a group where Pahang should reign supreme over the inconsistent Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and Premier League sides, Penang and PKNS FC.

The Elephants did the double over PDRM winning comfortably 5-3 in Shah Alam before registering a 1-0 win in Kuantan.

They also knocked out The Panthers in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win in the first leg seeing them through after Penang held them to a 2-2 draw in the second at The Bandaraya Stadium.

Thus it will be interesting to see who will get the second spot to the knock-out stage between PDRM, Penang and PKNS FC.

The last two meetings between PDRM and Penang were in the 2014 season when The Cops did the double over their opponent on their way to the Premier League title.

The most recent meetings between PDRM and PKNS FC happened in the 2011 season when the latter won both matches.

PKNS FC meanhile pushed Penang for promotion in this season Premier League campaign but dropping points against the likes of DRB Hicom and Sabah eventually saw their challenge faltered.

NAKAJIMA LATE STRIKE SEALS WIN FOR TURTLES

Issey Nakajima was the toast of Terengganu last night when his strike eight minutes from time sealed all three points for Terengganu against a physical Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) side.

Both teams were equal on points before kick-off but the home side started brightly with Nakajima testing PDRM goalkeeper, Badrulzaman Abdul Halim early on.

There were early chances too for defenders Helmi Remeli and Vincent Bikana from deadball situations but both of them failed to find the target.

PDRM players, with former Negeri Sembilan striker turned fullback, Shahurain Abu Samah in particular resorted to physical tactics in order to stop the Terengganu attacks at all cost.

It cost Terengganu their forward, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha who had to be substituted in the 25th minute after a heavy challenge he received from Shahurain early on with Fakhrurazi Musa taking his place.

Terengganu continued to create chances but their players could not hit the target or when they did, found Badrulzaman to be in good form.

After another foul, the referee Wan Mohamad Tarmizi Wan Ibrahim finally flashed the yellow card to Shahurain and his teammate, Mohamad Azrul followed suit a while later together with Bikana for fighting.

Then as the match about to reach the interval another heavy lunge by Shahurain, this time on Ismail Faruqi was deemed legal by Wan Mohamad Tarmizi who waved play on despite the protest by Terengganu players.

The first half theme continued in the second with Terengganu players failing to convert the chances they created.

One player who was really keen to show his stuff was Jaime Braganca who was almost a Terengganu player before The Turtles opted to sign Nakajima instead as the replacement for the injured Hassan Chaito.

Shahurain meanwhile continued to receive 'protection' from Wan Mohamad Tarmizi who should should have flashed a second yellow card to the player on at least two separate occasions.

Instead Wan Tarmizi seemed to be happier in showing the yellow apparatus to Terengganu players with Ismail Faruqi, Fakhrurazi, Helmi Remeli, Gustavo Lopez and Nakajima finding their names in the referee's book for petty fouls.

This did not go down well with the seven thousand plus crowd who started booing the referee and his officials who also seemed to be more lenient towards the visitors who continued to escape with more over the top tackles.

However, justice seemed to be done when Ashari Samsuddin played a one-two with Nakajima and dribbled the ball to the byline before cutting it back into the penalty area finding the Canadian international whose shot gave Badrulzaman no chance at all.

The stadium erupted with joy and relief and Terengganu held on for the rest of the match to win all three points and moved into fourth place.

TITANS HELD BY NS MATRIX AT HOME

T-Team Titans failed to utilise Kedah's stalemate with Penang as they too were held NS Matrix at home last night.

A win for Tomislav Steinbruckner's side would have seen them retaking the top spot of the Premier League from The Canaries.

After a dour first half which saw both sides failing to create any clear cut chance, the match picked up a bit of pace in the second but it was the visitors that opened the scoring.

Former Terengganu striker, Francis Doe took full advantage after the home side failed to clear the ball properly from a free-kick. He received the ball just inside the box and flicked it over former team-mate, Mazuki Yusof before unleashing a low shot past The Titans goalkeeper, Wan Muhammad Azraie.

The lead however lasted only for seven minutes when Sadriddin Abdulaev found Mohamad Nor Hakim inside the box with a pass. The forward then made a short pass to substitute, Muhamad Zulhanizam who turned and made an attempt at the visitor's goal.

It was not a strong shot but it was enough to wrongfoot NS Matrix goalkeeper, Helmi Eliza. The 1-1 score remained until the final whistle despite Josip Milardovic hitting the bar from a free-kick towards the end of the match.

TITANS NEED ALL THREE POINTS TONIGHT

T-Team Titans could return to the summit of the Premier League if they win their encounter with Negeri Sembilan tonight and Kedah fail to win their Northern derby against Penang.

The Titans head coach, Tomislav Steinbruckner is hoping for his team to get back on the winning track after three matches without a win and there is no better time than tonight against the inconsistent Negeri Sembilan.

Without their injured topscorer; Farhod Tadjiev, T-Team are putting their hopes on new signing Tomislav Busic who had opened his goal account with a penalty against JDT II on Friday.

The tall Croatian looked good in the air but he could struggle to get past pacy defenders, thus the plan should be to get good delivery into the box where Busic could do more damage.

A stalemate in the Northern derby would be beneficial to The Titans but they have to do their part of the bargain by getting all the three points.

Two other promotion chasers, PKNS FC and JDT II will square off against one another at the Hang Jebat Stadium while Sabah could get back on a winning track by winning at Kuantan FA.

THT LOST TO KLHC IN CHARITY SHIELD OPENER

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) lost in their opening match to the 2015 TNB-MHL Premier League season to their arch rivals, Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club.

The match which also served as the curtain raiser Charity Shield was played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.

THT took the lead in the 15th minute when Jose Leandro Tolini scored from a penalty corner but the lead did not last long with KLHC hit back through a penalty corner of their own, converted by Pakistani Ali Shan in the 19th minute.

It did not end there as they converted two successive penalty corners in the 20th and 21st minute through Nabil Fiqri and Razie Rahim respectively.

Two field goals by Muhammad Rashid Baharom in the 33rd and 49th minute made the score 5-1 to the home side before Ismail Abu pulled one back in the 52nd minute.

However there was enough time for another KLHC strike when Harvinder Singh scored another field goal in the 58th minute to make the final score 6-2 in favour of KLHC.

The win gave Dharmaraj Abdullah boys three points with a healthy goal difference but for for THT head coach, Sarjit Singh it would be back to the drawing board before their next match against Maybank on Friday at the same venue.

NAKAJIMA HATTRICK LIFTS TURTLES TO SEVENTH

Issey Nakajima made his return to the Terengganu side in style last night by grabbing a 24 minutes hattrick as The Turtles trashed the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) 5-1 at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi.

Terengganu who had registered two consecutive wins last month since ending their run of six successive defeats, needed to win all three points to push themselves for a better position in the Super League.

They started the match well with Ismail Faruqi testing Syed Adney Syed Hussin in the ATM goal early on.

The pocket sized attacking midfielder then put his team ahead in the 15th minute when he headed home a cross from Sharin Sapien, whose run was spotted by Norshahrul Idlan Talaha who had broken through on the right wing.

However the lead did not last long and in the 23rd minute the score was level again when a foul by Vincent Bikana on Jerry Palacios saw the referee awarding ATM with a free-kick right at the edge of the penalty area.

Abdulafees Salam blast found its way past the Terengganu defensive wall, giving Sharbinee Allawee no chance at all.

The Terengganu goalkeeper had to be alert on a number of occasions too as ATM looked lively in their new 3-5-2 formation. However no more goal was scored and the teams went off at the interval with the score tied at 1-1.

The home side began the second half aggressively and could have taken the lead if Hairuddin Omar's header had been more accurate.

Then four minutes into the half, Terengganu took the lead again. Gustavo Lopez, whose two goals prior to this match came from dead ball situations, made it three when his attempt left Syed Adney grasping thin air.

Terengganu head coach, Ahmad Yusof made his first change in the 52nd minutes with Nakajima coming on for Sharin Sapien. Four minutes later the Japanese-Canadian had his name on the scoresheet.

Ismail darted in from the right and attempted to play a one-two with Ashari Samsuddin but the latter's touch saw the ball rolling away from him.

Out of nowhere came Norshahrul with a burst of speed that took him past two ATM defenders before crossing it across the goalmouth where good anticipation saw Nakajima arriving ahead of a defender to turn the ball over the line.

The joy was clear on his face after only able to watch his team-mates in action since May due to a stomach muscle injury.

With a 3-1 lead, Ahmad Yusof decided to bring Ashari off and replaced him with Fakhrurazi Musa in the 67th minute. The midfielder almost made an immediate impact when his shot from outside the box hit the post with Syed Adney beaten.

In the 73rd minute Fakhrurazi crossed the ball from the right and Nakajima arrived ahead of a defender to turn the ball past Syed Adney. Six minutes later in an almost similar move Nakajima completed his first hat-trick in Terengganu colours.

The win lifted Terengganu into seventh place in the Super League table and they will entertain the Lions XII next on Wednesday.

KOBERT CONTINUE THEIR SUPPORT FOR TERENGGANU HOCKEY

Kobert, a local brand from Kuala Terengganu continue making their presence felt in the Terengganu sports scene by sponsoring the state's challenge in the 2015 hockey season.

Apart from providing the apparels for the Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) which will play in the Premier League, Kobert also provide supports for two other Terengganu teams, the men and women teams that will play in Division One and Women League respectively under the banner of Terengganu Sports Council/Terengganu Hockey Association (MSNT/PHT)

Last night during the THT jersey launch and player presentation ceremony, Kobert presented the Terengganu Hockey Association with the mock cheque of RM100,000 by their Chief Executive Officer, Mohamad Faeez, witnessed by Terengganu Chief Minister, Dato' Seri Ahmad Razif and the state Sports and Youth EXCO member, Dato' Rozi Mamat.

LATIN FLAVOURS FOR THT

Terengganu Hockey Team (THT) unveiled their squad for the 2015 TNB-MHL Premier League challenge last night in a ceremony at the Primula Hotel, Kuala Terengganu.

2014 'double' winner THT will continue to be guided by Sarjit Singh and he will be assisted by Mohamad Shamsol Ismail and Nurul Fakri Mohamad Alias. Roshali Tahar is the team manager and Arman Che Mohamad is his assistant.

THT retained most of the players that helped them to their inaugural titles last season with brothers Faizal Saari and Fitri Saari are expected to continue playing prominent roles in the squad.

Other familiar names are Ismail Abu, Azlan Misron, Jivan Mohan, Engku Abdul Malek, Muhammad Firhan Ashari and Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin while Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman and Mohamad Hazrul Faiz will continue their rivalry to play between the posts.

Last season, THT were powered by their South Korean players. However this season they opted for Latin flavours with three Argentine players signed for the campaign.

The trio are led by the experienced Ignicio Quilez. The rest of the Argentines are defenders Nicolas Cicileo and midfielder Pablo Trevisan. Jose Leandro Tolini provides an Italian flavour to the THT midfield.

Pakistan international midfielder, Ahmad Shakeel Butt who helped his country to win the silver medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games completes THT foreign players quota.

THT will open their campaign against the Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) on Sunday, 2 August in a match that will also serve as the Charity Shield at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

THT squad with their jersey numbers:

1. Mohamad Shahrun Nabil Abdullah
2. Nicolas Cicileo
3. Shahrin Mohamad
4. Pablo Trevisan
5. Ignacio Quilez
6. Jose Tolini
7. Fitri Saari
8. Muhammad Shahiram Zali
9. Luqman Nul Hakim Ahmad Shukran
10. Faizal Saari
13. Ismail Abu
14. Azlan Misron
15. Jivan Mohan
16. Ahmad Shakeel Butt
20. Engku Abdul Malek
21. Muhammad Hafizuddin Othman (GK)
22. Firhan Ashari
23. Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin Tengku Abdul Jalil
32. Mohamad Hazrul Faiz Ahmad Sobri (GK)

MALAYSIA BEGIN WITH A WIN OVER CHINA

Malaysia defeated China 3-2 in their first match of the FIH World Hockey League semi-final round at the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp, Belgium.

In this Group B match, Tan Beng Hai's boys took the lead through Faizal Saari reverse stick shot after 18 minutes. Muhammad Haziq then doubled Malaysia lead at the end of the second quarter.

China reduced the deficit in the third quarter through Guo Xiaoping and could have equalised through a penalty stroke but Malaysian players requested for the incident to be reviewed and the umpires cancelled the decision.

Malaysia skipper, Razie Rahim scored the third goal inn the final quarter but a lapse of concentration allowed China to score again a minute later.

The Speedy Tigers however held on to register a win on their opening match. Next they will face Ireland on 25 June.

CROWD TROUBLE AS TURTLES GO OUT ON AWAY GOALS

Terengganu fans ran amok last night after their team was knocked out by the Lions XII who despite losing the match 3-2 went through to the FA Cup final on away goals rule.

Having lost 2-1 in Singapore last week, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim's boys only needed to win 1-0 to win using the rule themselves but it did not happen according to plan.

Instead, the Lions were the one that managed to score first when Khairul Amri managed to win the ball in an aerial duel with Vincent Bikana before rounding Sharbinee Allawee and slotting the ball home.

With no more advantage to them, Terengganu players knew they have to attack. It paid off in the 22nd minute when Paolo Rangel beat Izwan Mahbud with a looping header from a good cross from Issey Nakajima.

Five minutes later the visitors restored their lead when Khairul Amri rasping drive went past Sharbinee after Bikana could only partially cleared a free-kick that was lobbed into the box.

It was a disaster for Terengganu and in order for them to go through they need to score three more goals. To make things harder, Nakajima had to go off when he suffered a recurrence of the injury that kept him out of the first leg.

As the match went into added time at the end of the first half Muhamad Safuwan fouled Rangel inside the penalty area and referee, Amirul Izwan immediately pointed to the spot.

Rangel picked himself up and Izwan Mahbud was beaten for the second time during the match. With the score at 2-2, the advantage was still with the Lions as the players trooped off to the dressing room at the end of the first half.

On the hour mark Terengganu got themselves closer to their mission after Norshahrul Idlan Talaha scored with an acrobatic kick. An initial attempt by Ahmad Nordin Alias was blocked by a Lion defender but Norshahrul reacted first to score his first goal for The Turtles.

At 3-2 Terengganu only needed one more goal to go through and the thirty thousand plus spectators were urging them on. However the Lions' defence stood firm.

Then as it entered the last few minutes of the match Terengganu forced a number of corners and from one of them they managed to get the ball into the net and the stadium erupted with joy.

However their joy was short-lived when the referee assistant raised his flag indicating that Ahmad Nordin who got the last touch of the ball was in an offside position.

The goal was not to be counted and during the following commotion, the referee flashed the red card to Rangel for behaving aggressively while protesting the decision.

A few minutes later, Gustavo Lopez followed his team-mate into the dressing room when he was shown a second yellow card for dissent and The Turtles' FA Cup dream was as good as over.

The fans then began to take their frustration on the police and the trouble lasted for more than five hours before the authorities managed to disperse the crowd.

SLIM ADVANTAGE TO THE LIONS

The Lions XII will take a slim advantage to Kuala Terengganu in a week time after they defeated the east coast side 2-1 in the first leg of the 2015 FA Cup semi-final at the Jalan Besar Stadium tonight.

Fandi Ahmad boys who thrived on the surface of the articial turf displayed their usual fast attacking football and tested Terengganu goalkeeper, Sharbinee Allawee on a number of occasions.

Gabriel Quok was the main threat for the home side, pulling the strings for the likes of Faris Ramli and Khairul Nizam.

It was the winger's free-kick that put Lions XII ahead in the 30th minute after the awkward bounce deceived Sharbinee and Khairul Nizam took full advantage by slotting the ball home.

Four minutes later they made it two when Faris made full use of his speed to get past the Terengganu defence after receiving a pass from Nazrul Nazari.

However, Gustavo Lopez free-kick in the 37th minute saw The Turtles scoring an important away goal that could turn out to be crucial when the team meet again in a week time.

The home side tied hard to add to their tally but Sharbinee played a blinder and kept out most of the attempts on his goal and on the few occasions he was beaten, lady luck smiled at him as the woodwork came to his rescue.

PRESENT MALAYSIAN LEAGUE FORMAT RETAINED FOR 2016

The Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) the organiser of the Malaysian League beginning in season 2016 announced that the number of teams participating in the top two tiers will remain unchanged.

Thus both the Super League and the Premier League will see twelve teams playing each other twice in a round robin format.

Chief Executive Officer of the FMLLP, Kevin Ramalinggam said additional teams will see the fixtures will be more congested.

The FMLLP will be the one responsible to oversee the running of the Malaysian League through another body called The League Congress which will also be responsible to uphold the league policies.

The League Congress will see the Malaysian League teams as partners, the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) as the managing partner while FMLLP will act as special partner.

PAHANG GO TOP

Pahang continued their fine form with another win last night against Perak.

The 1-0 win was Pahang was their fourth in succession and saw them climbed to the top of the Super League, two points clear of The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) and Johor Darul Takzim (JDT).

Matian Conti scored the all important goal via a spot kick in the 72nd minute.

The penalty came after the referee had spotted a handball offence in the penalty area as Pahang striker, Dickson Nwaekame tried to square the ball to his team-mates.

It was Perak first away defeat this season and the defeat saw them dropped to fifth place, the spot previously occupied by The Elephants.

NO DEBUT JOY FOR NORSHAHRUL

Norshahrul Idlan Talaha first match in the white and black colours of Terengganu did not end well after Felda United won the Super League match in Kuala Terengganu 3-1.

However his partnership with Paolo Rangel show promises to become a deadly one if given time when Norshahrul laid an assist for the Brazilian to score his first goal from open play since early March.

In fact with more playing time together they could build a good understanding not just between themselves but with other attacking players such as Issey Nakajima, Abdul Manaf Mamat and Ismail Faruqi.

The defeat came as many Terengganu fans were expecting a win due to the presence of Norshahrul in the Terengganu squad.

Felda United were tied with Terengganu in second place of the Super League table but the win enabled them to make it their own.

They took the lead almost against the run of play when a Shukor Adan near post header was parried by Sharbinee Allawee but Shamim Yahya was on hand to slot the loose ball home.

The visitors could have doubled the lead when their quick counter-attack say Mekeche Ndumba hitting the bar with a stiff shot. It was clearly over the line but the referee was too far away and his assistant was no help either.

Terengganu came out strongly in the second half and finally found the equaliser when Norshahrul broke through on the right before delivering a cross that was headed home by Rangel for his sixth goal of the season.

It should have been the catalyst for The Turtles to turn the match around. 

However they lost influential midfielder, Ismail Faruqi to an injury from a reckless tackle by a Felda United player that went unpunished by the referee.

They created a number of chances that saw both Gustavo Lopez and Issey Nakajima went close but Farizal Harun was not to be beaten again tonight.

Instead it was his counterpart, Sharbinee who conceded two more goals as Felda United capitalised on Terengganu injury woes and below par performance.

 

Azlan Zainal who had been shaky all night long was finally taken off with Zairo Anuar coming on. Helmi Remeli took over as Vincent Bikana partner and Nordin Alias moved to right back.

Unfortunately, this was where Felda United broke through with their new signing, Christie Jayaselan got the better of Nordin and sent in a low cross which was turned into the net by Ndumba with ten minutes to go.

Three minutes later it got worse for The Turtles when Rangel misplaced a header and Felda United launched a quick counter-attack which in the end saw Zahan Ran putting his team 3-1 up.

The score remained until the final whistle.

TADJIEV KEEN TO CONTINUE SCORING STREAK

Farhod Tadjiev is looking to continue his scoring streak that has seen him finding the back of the net for T-Team Titans on ten occasions since breaking the duck against the Armed Forces (ATM) on the last day of February.

The Uzbek national cannot stop scoring at the moment and his latest double against DRB Hicom last Friday was the sixth match in succession that saw him scoring.

Tadjiev so far had amassed ten goals in all competitions and he is looking forward to add to the tally tonight when The Titans host UiTM FC at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in the Premier League.

However it would not be an easy ride but against The Dragons one cannot expect which side would turn up tonight.

They have been inconsistent so far this season with wins over big name such as Sabah as one of their four wins this season but already suffered three defeats.

To put things in perspective, they are just two points behind The Titans and an upset in Kuala Terengganu would see them leapfrogging the home side though for many pundits it is an unlikely scenario.

Any slip up by the leaders would see Pulau Pinang or Sabah nudging ahead depending on the result between the sides which would meet in Likas the same evening.

Both Kedah and Negeri Sembilan could capitalise on any slip ups by the leaders as both teams are now just two and three points adrift respectively behind T-Team.

JUST SILVER FOR AZIZUL IN SPRINT

Azizulhasni Awang hopes of repeating the double in 2008 were dashed when he was beaten in the final of the Men's Sprint final at the 2015 Asian Cycling Championship in Korat.

Incheon 2014 Asian Games silver medalist, Tomoyuki Kawabata went one better this time by grabbing the gold in a very close race between him and The PocketRocket Man.

In 2008 Azizul had done the double by winning the gold in the keirin and sprint events.

Kawabata also got the better of Azizul in Incheon during their semi-final encounter but he was beaten by Chinese cyclist, Bao Saifei in the final.

Fatehah Mustapha also did not fare well in the women's keirin final, finishing in sixth place in the race won by World Cup winner, Lin Junhong of China with Korean Lee Hye-jin finishing second.

BRONZE FOR FATEHAH IN WOMEN'S SPRINT

Fatehah Mustapha added a bronze medal at the 2015 Asian Cycling Championship when she defeated Chinese cyclist, Shi Jinging in the women's Elite Sprint.

Hong Kong cyclist, Lee Wai Sze grabbed the gold medal after she won her race against China's Lin Juhong.

Earlier, Fatehah won the silver medal in the women's 500 metre Individual Time Trial.

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AZIZULHASNI WINS KEIRIN GOLD

Azizulhasni Awang made up for his disappointment at the 2014 Asian Games by winning the keirin gold medal at the 2015 Asian Cycling Championship in Korat yesterday.

It was a strong field but Azizul sped to the front immediately after the pacer bike had gone off the track and despite attempts by the rest of the field to catch him The PocketRocket Man held on to register his first gold since the 2008 edition in Nara, Japan.

Japanese rider, Kazunari Watanabe had to settle for silver again this time. He was also beaten to the gold at the Asian Games by Iranian rider, Mohamad Daneshvarkhourram who failed to qualify for the final this time.