KUALA LUMPUR: Two red cards received by the home team overshadowed a spectacular acrobatic goal worthy of winning any match from Fernando Forestieri to see Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) extend their impressive record after a 3-1 victory over Terengganu FC in a Super League match.
The match started in grand fashion as more than 10,000 fans had filled the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, Kuala Terengganu and there was every reason to believe that an entertaining match was on the cards.
Both teams were evenly matched for the first 20 minutes before Forestieri produced a moment of magic to break the deadlock with a spectacular acrobatic kick when he chested down a pass from Mohd Afiq Fazail before unleashing the strike from outside the box, stunning the home crowd.
Stunned by the goal, Terengganu doubled their efforts in search of the equaliser and eight minutes later (28th min) import Sony Norde levelled the tie through a freekick.
However, Norde went from hero to zero when his tackle on Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi saw JDT awarded a penalty which Bergson da Silva put away to restore the lead well into the first half injury time.
When play resumed in the second half, the home team suffered a severe blow when Montenegro import Argzim Redzovic was axed for a rash tackle on Forestieri in the 52nd minute while substitute Ivan Mamut was given the marching orders in the 74th minute for an elbow on Muhamad Feroz Baharudin.
Down to nine-man, it was inevitable that JDT punished the home team when Endrick Dos Stantos made it 3-1 well into injury time of the second half.
Meanwhile, at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan, Sri Pahang FC fought back from a 2-0 deficit to emerge 4-3 winners over Negeri Sembilan.
Sri Pahang skipper Kpah Sherman was the toast of his team when he struck the winner well into injury time after 90 minutes had ended.
Negeri Sembilan despite playing away from home took the lead in the 8th minute through Herold Mark Goulon while Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi added the second in the 15th minute.
Pahang managed to reduce the deficit from the penalty spot through Stefano Brundo in the 23rd minute but Negeri Sembilan quickly restored order when import Anselmo Arruda Da Silva scored his team’s third goal a minute later.
Pahang coach Fandi Ahmad brought in David Rowley to beef up the fledging strikeforce and the move quickly paid dividends when Pahang’s third goal in the 79th minute through Brundo in the 90th minute while Sherman made sure of all three points with an injury time goal.
The Super League continued to be ruled by JDT after having collected 42 points while Sri Pahang remained in fourth spot with 28 points, followed by Terengganu in seventh place with 20 points.while Negeri Sembilan remained in 9th spot with 18 points.-Bernama
