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ROUND-UP: JDT one point away from historic title win, Kedah romp against Kelantan


BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter


The Southern Tigers are one point away from a historic fourth consecutive Malaysia Super League (MSL) title, while Felda United returned to winning ways and Pahang fell to a shock defeat to Pulau Pinang on Wednesday.

The Southern Tigers recorded a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Perak at home. The visitors opened the scoring through Hafiz Kamal's freekick in the first half injury time, but the hosts equalised just two minutes into the second, after Fadhli Shas pounced on a mistake by goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy. Lebanese striker Mohamad Ghaddar scored the winner in the 61st minute, although replays show that he did so from an offside position.

JDT vs Perak match highlights

Second-placed Kedah avenged their 3-1 Malaysia Cup group stage defeat to Kelantan last week, when they hammered the Red Warriors 5-0 at home. They needed only eight minutes to open the scoring, a goal by Syazwan Zainon, but had to wait until the 48th minute for their second through Danish poacher Ken Ilso Larsen, who found the back net once again 12 minutes later. Sandro da Silva too scored a brace, in the 71st and 87th minute. The result meant the Red Warriors have dropped to ninth place, just separated by three points from the relegation zone.

Goals from the Kedah-Kelantan match

Third-placed Pahang meanwhile fell to a shock 2-0 defeat to bottom-placed Pulau Pinang, at the Pulau Pinang State Stadium. They went behind as early as the eighth minute to Philippines international Mark Hartmann's header, and conceded the second goal in the 65th minute; a long range effort by Sanna Nyasi. The win, the Panthers' first at home in all competitions since 22 October last year, however failed to lift them from the bottom of the standings.

Goals from the Pulau Pinang-Pahang match

Felda United returned to winning ways, defeating Selangor 3-1 at home. Thiago Fernandes opened the scoring in the 40th minute, heading in a corner kick, before Ifedayo Olusegun doubled their lead in the 44th minute. Although the visitors were able to pull one back through former Felda star Forkey Doe's goal just one minute later, Shukor Adan's 76th minute goal was enough to let the Fighters come away with the three points, and let them pip the Red Giants to the fourth spot in the standings. The result was Selangor's first defeat after eight matches in all competitions.

Photos from the match between Felda United and Selangor

PKNS overtook T-Team FC to the seventh spot, defeating the Titans 2-1 at the Shah Alam Stadium. Midfielder Alif Haikal Sabri opened the scoring for the hosts in the 35th minute, his third for the Red Ants in their latest three league matches, and Nizam Abu Bakar doubled the lead seven minutes later. Asrol Ibrahim pulled one back for the visitors in the 67th minute, but they could not find the equaliser until the final whistle. The result meant that the Titans have not won their last four matches.

Highlights of the match between PKNS and T-Team

Melaka United left the relegation zone with Sarawak replacing them in eleventh place, after the Mousedeers defeated the Crocodiles 4-2 at the Hang Jebat Stadium. Mateo Roskam and Tommy Mawat gave the visitors a comfortable lead through two goals in the space of six minutes (23', 29'), but the hosts struck back with a fine comeback, scoring three goals within eight minutes (Marco Simic 31', Fauzi Roslan 35', Surendran Ravindran 39'). Felipe de Almeida Souza then added the Mousedeers' fourth goal deep in injury time. The result is Melaka's first league win since February 21, and Sarawak's fourth consecutive league defeat.

Goals from the Melaka United-Sarawak match

Round 19 will take place on August 5.

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