Aiman Nazirmuddin
Football Tribe Malaysia
Only two match-weeks remain of the Malaysia Super League, and the final table is starting to take shape, intensifying the race at the bottom of the table and creating intriguing battles for the highest available places despite Johor Darul Ta’zim having already wrapped up the league title.
Perak had to struggle to beat Selangor, but ultimately managed a 3-2 win in the Super League 2019. This victory helped Perak surge to the league’s sixth place with 30 points.
Visitors Selangor opened the net through Taylor Grant in the 29th minute. Shocked into life with the goal, Mehmet Durakovic’s side scored his equalizer by Raianderson Da Costa Morais or Careca in the 42nd minute.
Three minutes later, Selangor regained their lead after Endrick Dos Santos defeated goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim with a swipe kick. However, in the last minute of the first half, the hosts again leveled through a penalty taken by Leandro after Norhakim Hassan was fouled in the penalty box.
Continuing the second half of the game, Careca was once again the hero of his side after winning the Selangor goal in the 61st minute. This result dropped Selangor to fifth place, as they were overtaken by Kedah FA and Melaka United. It also brought Perak only one place behind the Red Giants.
Meanwhile, at the bottom of the table, Kuala Lumpur’s mission to continue to compete in the Super League has been made even more difficult after the side lost 2-0 to FELDA United FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras.
In the remaining two games, challenging tasks await Rosle Md Derus’s squad as they are scheduled to play Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) before finishing this season with Perak.
This result meant that the Capital club saw their position slump to the bottom of the Super League, as they were overtaken by FELDA themselves.
It did not take long for the visitors to take the lead, with the first goal being scored in the 40th minute by Singaporean import Khairul Amri Mohamad Kamal.
In the second half, the hosts pushed forward in search of an equalizer and in the 54th minutes, Ahmad Fakri Saarani had to blame himself for failing to take advantage of his open chance. The side were punished for the error shortly after the hour mark, as Muhammad Zahril Azri Zabri found the net when he scored the second goal to secure all three points.
Meanwhile, Melaka United’s 2-1 victory over PKNP at the Hang Jebat Stadium yesterday was a relief to Melaka United operator Zainal Abidin Hassan.
According to Zainal, the entry of Safiq Rahim as a substitute was acknowledged to have a big impact on the overall performance despite still being injured.
“What a relief, Safiq played comfortably in the game even though he was put in at the end of the first half after the equalizer of the MU,” Zainal said.
“Real experience is crucial to strengthening the centerpiece with the presentation form successfully absorbed by his teammates.”
With this win, Melaka United climbed as high as third place in the table, overtaking Kedah and Selangor after collecting 32 points from 20 games.