| PDRM | 4 | Mohd Azlan Ismail, Hilary Echesa 2, Mohd Latiff Kamaruddin | | Terengganu | 2 | Gleisson Freire, Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin | | Selayang Municipal Stadium | If Terengganu wish to be crowned Super League Champions by the end of the season there should not be any more repeat of the performance like the one displayed at the Selayang Stadium last night. Where the Turtles scored two wonderful goals through Gleisson Freire and Mohd Ashaari Shamsuddin, PDRM capitalised on the visitors defensive errors to score four times through Mohd Azlan Ismail and two of their foreign players, Hilary Echesa who notched a brace and another from Singaporean Ahmad Latiff Kamaruddin.
The defeat saw Terengganu being knocked off the perch of the Super League, albeit on goal difference by Kedah who defeated bottom club UPB-MyTeam 2-0 in Alor Setar. Two other teams; Selangor and NS Naza also accumulated thirteen points but were seperated by goal differences. Both teams registered away wins with the Red Giants winning 3-1 against troubled Pahang while Sarawak failed to stop NS Naza from winning 3-2 in Kuching. A heavy pitch certainly did not favour Terengganu from the start. Travelling for their third away match in a row certainly had taken its toll on the players with most players looking lethargic and struggled to get into the match. However, Terengganu had the more of the ball but failed to convert the chances they created. Perhaps it was against the run of play when PDRM opened the scoring. A high ball from the left should have been dealt in a simple manner by Fabio Flor but the lanky Brazilian defender miscued it and the loose ball was picked up by PDRM forward Mohd Azlan who had no problem slotting the ball past Mohd Sharbinee Allawee in the Terengganu goal. The home side were in front after 26 minutes. Twelve minutes later another defensive error opened the way for PDRM to increase their lead. Another high ball into the box and a miscommunication between Flor and Sharbinee led to the ball being loose again in the box. This time Echesa was in the right place to benefit from the mix-up. The interval did not bring much relief to Terengganu as PDRM scored again three minutes after the restart. Again Echesa took full advantage after he sprung the off-side trap laid by the Terengganu defence and did not have much trouble in beating Sharbinee. For Terengganu fans inside the Selayang Stadium, they were fearing for the worse. Fortunately, Gleisson managed to restore some sanity to the score-line with a goal that would have been a candidate for the goal of the season. Picking up the ball just near the halfway line he ran past the PDRM defenders before unleashing a dipping shot from 30 metres to reduce the score-line to 3-1 in the 62nd minute. After complaining to the referee about what he perceived as dangerous play by the PDRM goalkeeper, the Brazilian himself was dismissed by the man in the middle who deemed Gleisson to have committed the offence himself during a tussle for a high ball. The decision was greeted by jeers by Terengganu fans who felt the referee should have practiced better use of his brain. The match came back to life after Mohd Ashaari made the most of the space behind the PDRM defence after receiving a wonderful ball from substitute Ismail Faruqi. Cutting in from the right he unleashed an unstoppable shot past the PDRM goalkeeper. With the score becoming 3-2 Terengganu were determined to at least go back to the City of Kuala Terengganu with a point. They nearly did it when midfielder Zairo Anwar Zailani unleashed one of his specials. Unfortunately his attempt hit the woodwork this time, much to the disappointment of the travelling supporters. With Terengganu committing almost everybody forward, their defence were left dangerously exposed. PDRM took full advantage of this when they managed to thwart another Terengganu raid. From the counter-attack Echesa found Mohd Latiff who was left with the simple task of tapping the ball into the unguarded net after Sharbinee was left completely helpless on the ground. It ended miserably for Terengganu. |