PETALING JAYA, Aug 21 – Negeri Sembilan defeated Kelantan United 2-0 at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Bharu to regain the lead at the top of the 11-team Premier League with 32 points from 16 matches – dislodging Sarawak United who slipped to second place.
However, the lead could change hands when Sarawak United takes on the bottom-placed FAM MSN Project squad at the UiTM Stadium on Sunday. The Golden Hornbills now collected 31 points from 15 matches.
Playing an afternoon match, Negeri Sembilan grabbed an early 10th minute lead with skipper Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak scored from a penalty after a Kelantan United defender was hauled up for handball.
Frances Kone, who hails from Togo, scored for the visitors in the 81st minutes for full points and keep the title race open.
It was a bad day for Kelantan teams when Kelantan FC suffered a 3-1 defeat to Kuching City FC in another afternoon match played at the Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium.
Kuching City, coached by former national coach Irfan Bakti, scored through Alif Hassan (12th), Michael Izijie ((33rd), and Joseph Kalang Tie (55th) while Christos Intzidis netted Kelantan FC’s consolation goal.
Meanwhile, Sarawak United head coach E. Elavarasan has been drilling into his players not to underrate FAM-MSN although their opponents are at the bottom of the table.
“We respect all opponents…no matter what their position is in the league standings. At this stage, we cannot afford to slip and drop points. It is a match we need to win at all costs and do not let our guard down,” said Elavarasan.
“It is a crucial match for us in our bid for the title.”
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