TERENGGANU OPEN CAMPAIGN WITH A WIN OVER PENANG

Terengganu opened their 2016 Super League campaign with a hard fought win over Penang at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak last night.

Despite a fifth minute penalty miss by their Canadian international, Issey Nakajima Terengganu managed to breach the Penang defence in the 25th minute when a low shot by playmaker, Gustavo Lopez managed to beat goalkeeper, Sani Anuar.

The visitors adopted an aggressive approach in containing Terengganu players which saw a number of fouls committed by them, especially on Joseph Kalang Tie, Lopez and Nakajima.

However, match referee Naffez Abdul Wahab did not see any of them warranted any caution and only brandished the yellow card on the hour mark to Azrul Ahmad who still tried to plead his innocence despite fouling Lopez for the umpteenth time.

In the 34th minute, a long shot from midfield saw Penang coming closest to equalise but the ball hit the bar with Sharbinee Allawee completely beaten. The rebound hit the goalkeeper's back but luckily for Terengganu, Sharbinee managed to grab it before any further damage could be inflicted.

Lopez was denied a second goal when his freekick two minutes before the interval was on it's way in before Sani managed to claw it back out. The loose ball then fell to Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and he unleashed a stiff shot but once again Sani managed to palm it away.

Sharbinee had to be alert again in added time when Penang skipper, Mohamad Rafiuddin managed to break free on the left before unleashing a stiff shot, which much to the delight of the home supporters, the goalkeeper palmed away for a harmless corner.

The second half saw the post denying Terengganu from increasing their lead when Norshahrul who managed to find space on the left fired in a low shot which had Sani completely beaten but much to the forward's dismay, hit the post and rebounded to safety.

Terengganu fourth foreign player, Juan Morales was introduced in the 74th minute but he did not bring much impact to the attack.

Penang pressed hard to level the score but the tiring Terengganu players managed to hold on to their lead until the final whistle to ensure their season started with a win.