KUALA LUMPUR (23 Feb 2015) – Nobody expected this but newcomers Police scalped Kelantan 4-0 at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Bahru to add another big name to their list of victims which left the Red Warriors dazed on a night when the home fans were stunned unto silence.
Police rode on the brilliance of their Maldives national captain Ashfaq Ali who paved the way for the big win with a brace – giving the visitors the vital break through with the first goal which came in the first half of injury time when he ran into space to intercept a long ball. Ashfaq took one glance and saw Kelantan’s national goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat coming of his line and simply connected the ball which hit the left upright and spun into the net. Police 1-0.
Nine minutes into the second half Police put themselves in the driving seat – thanks to a penalty which was duly converted by their former Mali Olympian Dramane Traore. Traore scored a hatrick in the 5-3 defeat to Lions XI in the first match played at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on Feb 7.
Ashfaq, always a threat to the Red Warriors made it 3-0 when he got his second on the night and Mohamadou Sumareh completed the rout on 85 minutes on a night of misery for the homesters.
Police put the Singapore aside and came back strong to stun defending champions Johor Darul Takzim 1-0 at the Shah Alam Stadium last week and the big win over Kelantan is clear signals that the lawmen will be a handful for the big names and simply cannot be written off from a top bracket finish at least.
At the Shah Alam Stadium the high profile match between JDT and Selangor was only 35 seconds old when the Red Giants took the lead through their Indonesian ace Andik Vermansyah whose lethal left foot beat JDT goalkeeper Farizal Marlias after the Indonesian outwitted JDT defenders Jasazrin Jamaludin and Marcos Antonio after receiving the ball from Azmi Muslim off a freekick.
Andik had scored a goal in a similar fashion in Selangor’s come-from-behind 1-1 draw against Pahang in Kuantan last week.
JDT got their equaliser through their Argentine hot shot Luciano Figueroa who tucked home the rebound after Safiq Rahim’s attempt had come off the left post. The match had its fair share of hard tackles and scuffles with neither side pulling not giving any quarter after Selangor turned down JDT’s request to have the match played on Friday as the Southern Tigers are involved in a AFC Cup match against Bengal FC in Group F at the Larkin Stadium on Tuesday.
At the Perak Stadium in Ipoh, Perak could only managed a 2-2 draw against Lions XII. The Singapore outfit beaten 2-0 by Kelantan last week went ahead after four minutes through Khairul Amri after being setup by Faris Ramli. Perak hit back to lead 2-1 with Chad Souza (25th) and Namkung Wong (48th) on target.
Fandi Ahmad’s team were not to be denied a share of the spoils and substitute Firdaus Kasman broke the hearts of the home fans in the 68th minute with the equliser.
Felda United kept their impressive run in the league and the top place with seven points with a 2-1 win over Armed Forces at the Selayang Stadium. Edward Junior Wilson (15th) and Ahmad Syamim Yahya (28th) scored for the Fighters while the Gladiators scored their first goal this season after three matches through national striker Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (35th).
At the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terenganu, a brace by Paulo Rangel (45th and 78th) gave Terenganu a 2-1 win over winless Sime Darby FC. Nemanja Vidokovic scored for Sime Darby on 67 minutes.
Sarawak and Pahang settled for a scoreless draw at the State Stadium in Kuching.
SUPER LEAGUE RESULTS
Selangor 1 JDT 1
Sarawak 0 Pahang 0
Perak 2 Lions XI 2
Kelantan 0 Police 4
Terenganu 2 Sime Darby FC 1
Felda United 2 Armed Forces 1
PICTURES by www.asiana.my
