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.

A Dream Too Far

Malaysians dream of seeing their country lifting the AFF Suzuki Cup for the second time came crashing down when goalkeeper Farizal Marlias failed to deal properly a freekick taken by Thailand Kroekrit Thawikan and the loose ball tucked away by Charyl Chappuis with eight minutes to go.

The Tigers had completed a stirring comeback after losing the first leg 2-0 at the Rajamanggala on Wednesday.

Safiq Rahim early penalty after a soft foul on Norshahrul Idlan Talaha paved the way for Malaysia to pile on the pressure on the Thais with the Ultras Malaya providing the vocal push.

Bukit Jalil Stadium erupted in even louder roar when Indra Putra Mahyudin's header trickled into the net during the first half injury time after a good delivery by Norshahrul from the right.

Two minutes under the hour mark Safiq produced a stunning strike, this time from a freekick just outside the box to beat Thailand goalkeeper, Kawin Thamsatchanan to put Malaysia into the lead for the first time in the series.

The goal was Safiq's sixth of the tournament which eventually made him the topscorer which came with the Golden Boot award.

However the majority at the stadium knew that Malaysia really needed another goal to kill off the Thais who needed just a goal to gain the advantage on away goals rule.

What the Malaysians feared the most became a reality in the 82nd minute with the error committed by Farizal.

With the score 3-1 to the Malaysian Tigers but the Thais having the away goal advantage, Dollah Salleh's men had no choice but to take the match to the visitors, risking themselves to the quick counter-attack by Thailand.

The gamble did not pay off as Thailand managed to get their second goal two minutes from time through a quick counter-attack which ended when Farizal was left grasping thin air as Chanathip Songkrasin's shot went past him.

Just prior to this goal substitutes Gary Steven Robart and Muslim Ahmad came close with their efforts.

With their team needing to score two quick goals to win the trophy, the home fans knew their dream was over.

At the final whistle the score read Malaysia 3 Thailand 2 but the home side lost 4-3 on aggregate.

It was great to see the Thai players honouring the home fans with their lap of honour and the fans gave them a full hearted applause in return.

Credit too must be given to Dollah Salleh who rode the criticism throughout the tournament to get the team to the final, something that not many believe would happen prior to the tournament.

Including me.