Still flying high
Kedah maintain top spot with victory over winless Penang
PETALING JAYA: Super League leaders Kedah continued their dominance as they came from behind to down bottom side Penang 3-1 at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar.
2016 Puskas Award winner Faiz Subri ended his goal drought after one year and nine days with an 18th minute strike for Penang but the lead only lasted two minutes as Fitri Omar drew level for the hosts.
Youngster Syafiq Ahmad and midfielder Liridon Krasniqi ensured the Red Eagles stayed top of the 12-team table with goals in the 74th and 86th minutes.
Kedah have 14 points after six matches. Pahang kept up the heat on Kedah as they beat Premier League champions Malacca 3-1 at the Hang Jebat Stadium to stay second in the table with 13 points from six matches.
Midfielder Joseph Kallang Tie opened the scoring in the 20th minute before Matheus Alves doubled the Elephants’ lead in the 43rd minute.
Gambian Mohamadou Sumareh put the game beyond the hapless Malacca with his strike in the 57th minute before Ahmad Khuzaimie Piee’s consolation goal in the 90th minute.
Kelantan’s woes continued at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru, after the Red Warriors suffered their third straight home defeat after a 2-0 loss to Selangor.
Brazil-born Timor Leste midfielder Juliano Mineiro fired a brace in the fourth and 64th minutes to pile on the Warriors’ misery at home and leapfrog Perak to go third on goal difference.
Both teams have 11 points after six matches. At the Perak Stadium in Ipoh, Felda United – under the guidance of new coach B. Sathianathan – staged a second-half comeback to hold Perak 2-2.
The Seladang, also under the tutelage of a new coach in Mehmet Durakovic, raced to a 2-0 lead through Hafiz Kamal (14th) and Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak (52nd) but the Fighters replied through Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (67th) and Lucas Cano (69th).
Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim’s (JDT) new Argentine striker Gabriel Guerra starred with a hat-trick in the Southern Tigers’ 3-0 win over T-Team at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Baru.
The former PKNS hotshot was on target in the 10th, 30th and 39th minutes. JDT, with eight points, moved up four rungs from ninth to fifth spot.
Sarawak earned their second win in the Super League after edging PKNS 3-2 at the Shah Alam Stadium.
The Crocs’ goals were scored by Mateo Roskam (18th), Mark Hartmann (59th) and Mohammad Hafiz Abu Bakar (63rd). Lucas Espindola (55th) and Mohd Khairul Ramadhan (90+3) were the scorers for PKNS.
The win was Sarawak’s second after defeats to Kedah (3-2), Pahang (1-0), Malacca (1-0). The east Malaysians’ only win came against Penang (1-0).
“We have been playing good football but we couldn’t get the result but this time we played well and got the result that we wanted ... PKNS were a tough opponent and the match could have gone either way,” said Sarawak coach David Usop in the post-match press conference yesterday.