Southeast Asia Malaysia

Red Eagles Soar High to Shoot Down Phoenixes

Petaling Jaya City’s unbeaten start in the 2021 Liga Super Malaysia season was ended emphatically on Wednesday by a spirited performance from Kedah Darul Aman. The two sides clashed at the Darul Aman Stadium for Matchweek 4 of the Liga Super and despite the Phoenixes taking the lead in the first half, the Red Eagles of Kedah managed to turn things around in the second half, bagging their second win of the season in the process.

All-local PJ City, drawing twice and winning once in their first three Liga Super matches, drew first blood in the 38th minute. Kedah defender Fandi Othman had fouled PJ City’s Sunil Chandran within the home side’s penalty area, leaving the referee no choice but to award the Phoenixes with the spot kick. Kogileswaran Raj was tasked in taking the penalty and he made no mistake with his assignment, slotting home his penalty past Kedah goalkeeper Shahril Sa’ari with confidence and aplomb.

However, two minutes after the restart, the ever-inspiring captain of Kedah Baddrol Bakhtiar restored parity with a powerful header from a Rabih Ataya corner that left PJ City custodian Kalamullah Al-Hafiz utterly stranded. The Red Eagles then forced Kalamullah to pick up the ball from the back of his net for a second time in the 51st minute, this time Kpah Sherman managed to volley in a Baddrol free-kick past the 25-year old goalkeeper to give Kedah the lead, completing the home side’s comeback in the process.

The three points were then sealed up and insured in the 84th minute. Kedah’s very own Azamuddin Akil attempted a cross towards Sherman within the PJ City penalty box, eliciting a diving save from Kalamullah in the process. The ball went past the two opposing players though and it ended up being headed into the empty goal by substitute Fayadh Zulkifli, cementing all three points for last year’s Liga Super runners-up.

The rest of Wednesday’s action saw defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim and Terengganu FC relinquishing their 100% start to the season, however the two remain unbeaten as they were forced to a 1-1 draw by Selangor FC and Melaka United respectively. Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur City managed to give former head coach Chong Yee Fatt an unhappy return to the KLFA Stadium as they ran out 3-0 winners over Perak FC.