April 15, 2006

IPOH: Perak crashed to their second straight home defeat in the Super League when they were beaten 1-0 by Malacca Telekom at the Perak Stadium last night. Telekom skipper Hardi Jaafar netted the solitary goal of the game in the 12th minute off a free-kick to send his team to second place in the standings behind Negri Sembilan, who beat Penang E&0 2-0 at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi.

BUSTON NAGBE BROWN (Liberian Striker) put Negri ahead in the 62nd minute and Cameroon Striker Christian Beckamengo made it 2-0 from the spot eight minutes later.  This was the young Liberian Striker's first match for the club. Earlier in the second half, his header went wild, which deprive Negri of their first goal. He really needed some time to adjust here. For the time been he is settling down well, thank God.

Penang dropped to fourth place behind Perak. In Ipoh, Perak had gone into the match looking to bounce back after two quick losses to Perlis in the league and the FA Cup but their forward line was a big disappointment.


Midfielder Harizul Izuan Abdul Rani was the main culprit, missing at least three sitters which could have salvaged Perak a draw. Perak attacked from the kick-off and looked threatening but it was the visitors who stunned the crowd and went ahead in the 12th minute off a free-kick just outside the right corner of the penalty box.

Skipper Hardi's harmless looking grounder caught Perak goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin flat-footed while his defenders were ball-watching. Six minutes later, the homesters had a good chance to draw level but Harizul failed to connect a cross from the left and his mis-kick was blocked by a Telekom defender. Three minutes into the second half, Harizul hesitated in a one-on-one situation and even lost control of the ball.

Super League Standing SATURDAY APRIL 15, 2006

Team P W D L GF GA PT

NEGERI 17 10 2 5 22 13 32

TELEKOM 17 8 4 5 26 22 28

PERAK 17 8 2 7 28 23 26

PENANG 17 7 4 6 27 19 25

MPPJ 17 7 1 9 21 25 22

PERLIS 17 5 6 6 20 21 21

PAHANG 17 5 6 6 16 18 21

SELANGOR 17 5 1 11 23 36 16