As soon as you mention them, they turn up trumps!
As you may have read in the last article on the weekend fixtures in Malaysia, Terengganu were hosting Pahang in the East Coast derby. Pahang were warned of the form of Ismail Faruqi and Mario Karlovic, the two central midfielders who orchestrate the Turtles attacks.
Lo and behold, Karlovic nets from a free kick and Ismail Faruqi is awarded the freedom of the penalty box to coolly slot home Terengganu's second and put away the Elephants, Pahang comfortably.
This win puts the Turtles on top of the Super League, but perhaps a little too soon. There looks to be a team now poised to be the leader of the pack in the weeks to come.
A team that deposed table toppers Selangor may have underestimated. Well, Selangor were in for a rude awakening when they turned up at Larkin Stadium against an inconsistent Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) side with lofty ambitions.
The rejuvenated JDT were far superior in all departments and played sublime football at times. Two goals from centrebacks Baihakki Khaizan and Fadhli Shas, another from ace Singaporean defensive midfielder Hariss Harun and a late fourth for JDT courtesy of the maligned Luciano Figueroa easily brushed Selangor aside.
As Pablo Rangel dived for a penalty, it was pretty much game over for Selangor as they were beaten comprehensively. There seemed to be a certain freshness about JDT, and they played like an invisible burden had been lifted off their shoulders.
Tomorrow, a semi-final berth in the FA Cup awaits JDT as they take a two goal advantage from the first leg to Alor Star and face Premier League opponents Kedah. Prevent defeat by two clear goals and the season would really have kicked off for the Southern Tigers.
Speaking of fierce felines, former JDT coach Fandi Ahmad seems to get the best out of the Lions XII as they again win points at the death.
The late late show that is fast becoming a feature of the Lions game was on display again at the Selayang Stadium as they overcame ATM. This would not have pleased the latter's coach B. Sathianathan who has often criticised his players attitude and application this season.
Looking for cooler heads and experience to lead his squad in the Super League race, Sathia had to resort to recruiting veterans from his past coaching jobs.
Meanwhile, in Kota Baru, Steve Darby had his skipper to thank as Badro Radzi put in another smooth performance. The best creative midfielder in Malaysia has finally come good after a slow start to the season which had resulted in Kelantan's own shaky start.
In an earlier kick-off, on Friday night, Sime Darby dominated against Selangor PKNS, but failed to hit the back of the net as the game ended in a drab 0-0 draw. It was a surprisingly poor performance from PKNS as the Selangor state-owned outfit has had to live with uncertainty with different factions probing the funding for the football team amidst their ongoing Super League campaign.
However, PKNS could have better fortune on Tuesday night as they face Kelantan in the return leg of their FA Cup quarterfinal tie. They did all the hardwork by scoring two in Kota Baru and will look to the single goal needed to book a semis berth. It was an exciting 3-2 in the first leg and the two away goals have to be made to count this time.
In Kuching, the Crocodiles will be yawning big as they look to swallow Felda after a goalless draw first time out. There will surely be no excuse as Robert Alberts looks for further progress from his Sarawak boys.
Likewise, a one-all draw against PDRM in the first leg of the FA Cup should not deter Pahang from wanting to forget their league defeat against Terengganu in a hurry. Expect a high-scoring Pahang use their home ground advantage to set up a potential semis thriller against what is becoming the rivalry of all rivalries against JDT.
Yes, there could still be some explosive encounters this week in Malaysian football after the Super weekend in the League. – February 17, 2014.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.
Comments
Please refrain from nicknames or comments of a racist, sexist, personal, vulgar or derogatory nature, or you may risk being blocked from commenting in our website. We encourage commenters to use their real names as their username. As comments are moderated, they may not appear immediately or even on the same day you posted them. We also reserve the right to delete off-topic comments