JOHOR BARU (20 Aug 2015) – It rained at the Darul Makmur Stadium as Pahang shed tears in a disappointing 2-2 against Felda United in their penultimate Super League which cost them their place at the top of the Super League as defending champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) replaced them with a 4-1 win over Perak at the Larkin Stadium on Wednesday.
It was a classy performance by the Southern Tigers at Larkin who lost their place at the top last week after a 4-1 defeat to Kelantan in Kota Bahru. But it was a different story against Perak.
The win saw JDT keep their unbeaten home record on a night when Perak could only offer a feeble resistance which became undone once Argentine charm Luciano Figueroa opened scoring on 44 minutes.
That was all JDT needed to turn the tide in their favour and in the 48th minute Perak goalkeeper Zamir Selamat was beaten again – this time Nazrin Nawi fired home a long range attempt.
Perak reduced the deficit after 60 minute through Thiago Junio with a power packed header off a corner kick but it did little to rattle the homesters with the Southern Tigers dominant in their game.
Chanturu made it 3-1 for JDT in the 66th minute when he came from the blind side to finish off a Figueroa pass before skipper Safiq Rahim ( 71st) completed their scoring with a delightful right footed shot.
It was a different story in Kuantan as Felda United gave Pahang a torrid time despite falling behind to a Dickson Nwakaeme goal in the 49th minute. The Fighters took the game to Pahang and fittingly found the equaliser in the 62nd minute through Thiago Agusto.
The game was on and Felda shocked Pahang with their second goal in the 68th minute and again it was Agusto who got his name into the scoresheet when Pahang keeper Khairul Azhan allowed his weak header slip from his hands and roll into the net. Felda 2-1.
With Khairul having a poor game between the posts the pressure was on Pahang as the minutes ticked by. With both teams giving away no quarters there were several skirmishes between players from sides which threatened the game.
It was tough tackling Jamaican defender Damion Stewart who rescued Pahang with the equaliser when he soared high to send a glancing header past Felda goalkeeper Farizal Harun from a Hafiz Kamal corner in the 79th minute.
Pahang threw everything into attack in the last minutes but Nwakaeme and company could not find the extra in their finishing much to the frustration of their home supporters.
With the league’s last matches being played this Saturday there is still plenty to fight for when JDT travel away to play Felda while Pahang travel to neighbouring Terengganu to decide the league champions.
A draw or defeat against Felda United for JDT and a win by Pahang against Terengganu will see goals as the deciding factor as who will be the 2015 Super League champions.
JDT’s win, however, was marred by some crowd trouble after the match as police were seen taking away a trouble maker outside the stadium..
Terengganu defeated Police 1-0 at home in their penultimate match with Issey Nakajima netting the winner in the 81st minute.
For now JDT are in the driving seat and sit on the top with 46 points after 21 matches while Pahang slipped to second on 44 while Selangor are third on 36 after a 3-0 win over Kelantan at the Shah Alam Stadium.
Relegated Sime Darby finally tasted victory after 21 matches – with a 1-0 win over Armed Forces at the Selayang Stadium. That too came via a penalty which was converted by Nemanja Vidakovic on 66 minutes.
The defeated also sent Armed Forces to the Premier League next season after Sarawak defeated FA Cup champions Lions XII 2-1 in Kuching..
SUPER LEAGUE RESULTS (Aug 19)
JDT 4 PERAK 1
SELANGOR 3 KELANTAN 0
SARAWAK 2 LIONS XII 1
TERENGGANU 1 POLICE 0
SIME DARBY 1 A. FORCES 0
PAHANG 2 FELDA UTD 2
MALAYSIAN SUPER LEAGUE 2015 Current Standings
| No | Teams | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Johor Darul Ta’zim | 21 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 35 | 16 | +19 | 46 |
| 2 | Pahang | 21 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 26 | +16 | 44 |
| 3 | Selangor | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 38 | 28 | +10 | 33 |
| 4 | Felda United | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 33 |
| 5 | Terengganu | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 32 |
| 6 | PDRM | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 36 | +3 | 32 |
| 7 | LionsXII[b] | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 30 |
| 8 | Perak | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 29 | +3 | 28 |
| 9 | Kelantan | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 25 |
| 10 | Sarawak | 20 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 23 | 35 | −12 | 16 |
| 11 | ATM | 20 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 43 | −24 | 11 |
| 12 | Sime Darby (R) | 20 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 45 | −26 | 7 |
