Terengganu 4

Marzuki Yusof 24, Zairo Anwar Zailani 57

Abdul Manaf Mamat 80,Aliff Afifi 87

Melaka 0

The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin would be proud with the 4-0 score-line to mark Terengganu first match at the stadium which bears his name.

For visitors Melaka, it was a bit flattering as the margin could be bigger if Terengganu were able to convert all the scoring opportunities that came their way. Alas, a win is still a win and the most important thing last night was to get all the three points which made a place in the last eight even nearer.

With rivals Kelantan losing in Shah Alam, Terengganu is now three points clear in second place with a game in hand. Negri Sembilan which were docked three points for breaching the U-21 player rule during their match against Selangor kept their faint hopes alive with a late blitz 3-0 against Sarawak.

The stadium could be regarded as a neutral venue for both sides last night as Terengganu only had a short period of time to acclimatise to the pitch and surrounding of the arena which was vastly different to the old Sultan Ismail Nasirudin Shah Stadium.

Perhaps that could be used as a reason why Terengganu performed nervously with several errors which luckily did not prove costly. Melaka, with nothing to play for except for pride piled the pressure but could not conjur a clear cut chance to really threatened Sharbini Allawee’s goal.

Then in the 11^th minute Che Hishamuddin’s pressure on a Melaka defender paid off when he won the ball down the left. He put in a low cross which eventually found Ismail Faruqi whose effort went just inches wide of the goal.

A minute later a wonderful ball out of defence by Shahrul Ezrain released Che Hishamuddin with just the goalkeeper to beat. But he took too much time on the ball and a defender managed to clear the ball behind the goal line.

Zairo Anwar Zailani’s delivery from the resultant corner found Liew Kit Kong. The former Kuala Muda Naza player’s header was going in at the far post before it was cleared on the line by a defender.

In the 18^th minute Abdul Manaf Mamat was fouled. The referee awarded a free-kick which was within range for Zairo to attempt one of his specials. However this time his effort went just inches wide from the top right corner of the Melaka goal.

Another clear cut chance came Terengganu’s way again three minutes later when Kit Kong’s pass put Che Hishamuddin through on goal again. This time he managed to release a stiff grounder but much to his and the crowd’s disappointment, the goalkeeper managed to stop the shot with his leg.

Then in the 24^th minute Terengganu took the lead. Terengganu won a corner and Zairo’s perfect delivery found skipper Marzuki Yusof’s head who rose the highest at the far post to head home which sent the 10,000 plus crowd into raptures of joy.

Four minutes later another pass from Ezrain gave Abdul Manaf his first look at goal. His effort managed to beat the goalkeeper but a retreating defender cleared the ball off the line. The Turtles, cladded in the away yellow top for this encounter continued to create chances but were unable to convert them into goals.

Melaka began the second half strongly and forced a free-kick in the opening minute. It was a wonderful effort which was saved magnificently by Sharbini who held on to the ball. In the 53^rd minute the young goalkeeper was called into action again as Melaka launched a counter-attack.

Three minutes later the referee awarded a free-kick to Terengganu when Kit Kong was fouled. The crowd were calling for Zairo to try again and the midfielder did not disappoint this time. His effort bulged the net to give Terengganu a 2-0 lead.

On the hour mark Melaka should have pulled a goal back when a miscommunication in the Turtles defence presented them with a chance but just like the ones earlier, their players just could not find the target.

Kit Kong who clearly was not having the best of time on the pitch was replaced by Wan Mohd Aliff. The young striker was set-up by Che Hishamuddin in the 73^rd minute and with just the goalkeeper to beat he put his effort just inches on the wrong side of the post.

Another substitution by Terengganu saw Che Hishamuddin who worked hard all night being replaced by another youngster, Syam Shahril Ghulam. He did not take long to make an impact.

In the 76^th minute after receiving a pass on the left, his close control enabled him to evade the attention of a couple of Melaka defenders before unleashing a stiff shot which was going in until the goalkeeper dived across to tip the ball over the bar.

Two minutes later Jocian Bento broke clear on the right and having beaten a defender and the goalkeeper sidefooted the ball towards goal. Ismail Faruqi who was not having the best of luck from long distance, added the finishing touch from a metre out.

Much to his and almost everybody at the stadium’s horror, the linesman’s flag was raised indicating he was in an off-side position when connecting with the ball.

However, the crowd’s disappointment did not last long when a long ball out of defence found Aliff in the clear. The substitute spotted Abdul Manaf giving him the support on his right. A simple pass later and the striker had no problem beating the goalkeeper before rolling the ball into the empty goal to make the score 3-0.

In the closing stages Aliff wasted a couple of chances. Clearly he needs more practice on his left foot and also more  matches to give him more composure in front of goal. But three minutes from time he showed why the Terengganu coaches have much faith in him.

Ezrain sent another long pass forward and he timed his effort to perfection with a wonderful right foot volley which gave the goalkeeper no chance at all. A breathtaking goal to end a historic night for Terengganu.

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