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.
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