Darul Takzim, ATM play out thrilling draw
Darul Takzim and ATM both had to settle for a share of the spoils in the Malaysia Super League on Friday evening as they played out a 2-2 draw at the Larkin Stadium.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Billed as the clash between the competition's two big-spending sides, it was the Armed Forces who edged ahead after just five minutes when centre-back Amirizdwan Taj Tajuddin ventured forward to open the scoring.
Ex-Spain international Dani Guiza, who has shown glimpses of brilliance since joined Darul Takzim, then drew his side level in the 16th minute, but Irwan Fadzli Idrus restored the visitors' lead with a lovely freekick.
However, Norshahrul Idlan Talaha made it 2-2 a minute later, and although both sides showed plenty of endeavour in the remainder of the game, neither were able to find a winner.
Over at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, defending champions Kelantan dropped points for the second game running as they were held to a 0-0 draw by FELDA United.
Despite being expected to comfortably overcome their opponents, the Red Warriors got off to a slow start and it was the hosts who came close to opening the scoring in the first, with Mohammed Ghaddar and Nizam Bakar both narrowly missing the target with blistering efforts.
A minute after the break, Ghaddar, who left Kelantan in the off-season, nearly came back to haunt his old side when he was picked out inside the six-yard box but could only steer his effort just wide of the far post.
Nonetheless, Bojan Hodak's men eventually came to life and Haris Safwan had a goal disallowed for offside in the 59th minute, before FELDA goalkeeper Helmi Eliza made a fine recovering save to claw away a diving header from Izuan Salahuddin.
Three minutes into injury time, Kelantan had one final chance to steal all three points but captain Badhri Radzi could only watch on in agony as his exquisite freekick came back off the crossbar, much to the relief of the hosts.
Finally, T-Team were handed a second straight defeat as they were beaten 3-0 by PKNS FC at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium.
Zamri Morshidi opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a close-range header, before Patrick Ronaldinho Wleh doubled his side's lead a minute after the half-hour mark when he swept home from close range after Amirul Abu Seman had parried a shot into his path.
17 minutes from time, the contest was all but ended as Amirul made a horrendous error by scuffing a routine clearance into Fakrul Aiman, who reacted first to the loose ball and calmly stroked it into the unguarded net.
Friday's Malaysia Super League Results
Darul Takzim 2-2 ATM
FELDA United 0-0 Kelantan
T-Team 0-3 PKNS FC