Title fight is on as super race heats up

Selangor’s Amri Yahyah (right) dribbles past T-Team’s Nor Fazly Alias in their Super League match on Saturday. T-Team won 2-0.

THE Super League title race is developing into one of the closest in recent years with only two points separating the top four teams ahead of tonight's matches.


Kelantan's 6-0 drubbing of Felda United allowed them to re-assume their place at the top after both Selangor and Perak suffered surprising defeats over the weekend.

T-Team built on their earlier 4-3 win over Kelantan to claim Selangor's scalp 2-0 in Shah Alam on Saturday while Perak lost their unbeaten record after a 2-1 defeat to Sabah at Likas.

Those results left Kelantan and Selangor on 20 points, the former on top on goal difference, while Perak and Terengganu trail by one and two points respectively.


Perak host Kelantan in Ipoh -- in today's pick of the seven matches -- hoping to return to winning ways but not if Kelantan continue with their free-scoring ways which has brought 11 goals in three matches.

"The win was very important after losing to T-Team," Kelantan coach M. Karathu told Kelantan supporters website kelate.net.

"We returned to Kota Baru and proved we are organised. The players knew we could not afford another defeat and played with high spirits.

"We proved that we are among the best teams," added Karathu, who could again leave out under-performing skipper Badhri Radzi in favour of the Danial Fadzly Abdullah-Shakir Shaari midfield combination.

Selangor too must put behind them the shock of the weekend and the suspension of Amri Yahyah when they meet a demoralised Felda United in Cheras.

While the situation at the top remains fluid, teams battling in the bottom-half are also clumped closely together with four sides on 11 points.

Pahang earned a hard-earned point against Kuala Lumpur but must make do without suspended defender Nazrulerwan Makmor, who was sent off on Saturday, and hamstring injury victims Surendran Rasiah and Faizol Hussein against Johor FC in Kuantan.

"This point is very important after two defeats to get the players morale back. Because of injuries I had no choice but to play Zaiza (Zainal Abidin) in midfield," said Pahang coach Dollah Salleh after the draw with KL.

"Our strike-force was not very effective against KL but Surendran and Faizol are not likely to recover in time."