PETALING JAYA, Aug 29 – Kedah FC playing their fifth match in 16 days overcame fatigue to snatch a 1-0 win over Perak FC at home on Saturday and move to second place in the Super League with 38 points after 18 matches.
Can the Red Eagles keep the pace and finish second in the Super League which already won by Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) a day earlier.
The Southern Tigers wrapped up their eighth successive league title with a 3-0 win over Sri Pahang that garnered them 51 points from 20 matches.
Liberian hitman Kpah Sherman headed home the winner from a corner kick in the 20th minute against relegation threatened Bos Gaurus.
For the record, Kedah ran into a backlog of matches, due to the Covid19 pandemic.
It is not over yet for the Red Eagles, who will endure another tight schedule to complete their league fixtures and have two matches in hand over the rest.
Kedah’s backlog journey began with a 4-2 defeat to Selangor at home on Aug 13. It was a rusty Kedah who also had defender Renan Alves red-carded for stopping the ball with his hands on the goal line.
However, Kedah, coached by Singaporean Aidil Sharin Sahak, bounced back with wins over Penang FC (4-1), Terengganu FC (2-1), Petaling Jaya City FC (4-1) before the win over Perak.
Kedah will next plays Sri Pahang on Sept 1, Kuala Lumpur City on Sept 4 (both away) and complete their journey with a home match against UiTM FC on Sept 8.
”Without a doubt, you can see the players have been hit by fatigue. They are physically and mentally exhausted. We just have time for recovery before we play the next match…no time to train. I take my hat off for their perseverance and ability to play despite the odds,” said Aidil Sharin.
Meanwhile at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, Melaka United snatched last gasp equaliser to deny Selangor full points – putting another dent into Selangor’s much talked about German DNA under coach Karsten Neitzel.
Selangor also had Ashmawi Yakin (a defender) sent off for a professional foul on Sony Nordy in the 28th minute after Hein Htet Aung had given the Red Giants the lead ten minutes earlier.
Melaka’s Filipino import Manuel Ott netted the equaliser just seconds before the final whistle.
It was a nightmare for Sabah at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam as the East Malaysian outfit went down 4-0 to UiTM FC. Kwon Yong-Hyun, Joel Vinicius, and Sean Gan Gianelli (two) were the scorers.
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