Nidzam denies Kelantan

20/05/1998

KEDAH defeated Kelantan by a solitary goal at Darulaman Stadium in Alor
Star, writes J. Naidu.
They broke the deadlock in the 55th minute with a well-taken goal by
Nidzam Adzha Yusof.
After a few exchanges, Kedah came up well in the eighth minute when
newcomer Rafidi Abdul Rashid tested goalkeeper Kamaruzaman Mohamed with a
dip shot.
The ball rebounded off the keeper and defender Kane Mamadou, who got to
the ball, fumbled and blew away a good chance for his side to take the
lead.
Mamadou was again presented with a sitter in the 11th minute but he
kicked the ball over the bar.
In the 43rd minute, Kelantan, who were defending well, finally had a
chance to score but Wan Rohaimi Ismail's dipping shot hit the bar.
Kedah opened accounts when Nidzam picked an overhead pass from Radhi Mat
Din, beat a defender and scored.
They became aggressive after this goal but Kelantan, despite being a
Premier Two outfit, matched them stride for stride.
* JOHOR pulled off a 2-2 draw against Perlis at the Utama Stadium with a
late equaliser, reports Sharanjit Singh.
Perlis started on the offensive and had Johor in trouble early.
Kiatisuk Senamuang had a big hand in organising the Perlis attack and
was rewarded in the 12th minute.
Perlis were awarded a free-kick after Zamri Jamlus was knocked down just
outside the Johor penalty box.
Kiatisuk took the kick and the ball was helped into the net off a
deflection by the Johor wall.
Johor banged in the equaliser in the 36th minute, the goal coming
against the run of play when Bakhtiar Othman took possession at the
halfway line.
The attacking midfielder headed straight for the Perlis goal, beating
three defenders before slotting home the equaliser.
Perlis began a desperate search for more goals and managed to go ahead
again two minutes from halftime.
Kiatisuk again came to his team's rescue when he skilfully beat two
Johor defenders to blast home his second goal of the game.
Both teams had an equal share of posessions in the second half.
However, it was Johor who converted a chance which came their way late
in the game.
Darren Stewart blasted inside the penalty box in the 86th minute.
* NEGRI Sembilan and Malacca played to a lacklustre 1-1 draw at the
Paroi Stadium, reports Jugjet Singh.
There was no urgency, and both sides took their time.
Scott Ollerenshaw and Gus Cerro hardly went out of their way to
challenge 50-50 situation and Malacca player looked like they were afraid
of getting injured.
Ollerenshaw had two good looks at goal in the first six minutes of play
but fumbled the first and shot straight at Malacca goalkeeper Zainal Rabin
in the second.
Negri stepped up the pressure and were rewarded in the 13th minute off
their second corner of the match.
Pedro Oliviera received the pass from the left but he allowed the ball
to pass between his legs for Affendi Julaihi to release a thundering shot
which went crashing into the net.
Negri were in control of the first half and troubled Malacca defenders
John Onwudegwu and Edward Dipreye but Ollerenshaw, who had clear chances
at goal, was a pale shadow and failed to score.
In the 30th minute, Dipreye brought down Gus Cerro and the referee
awarded a free-kick but Olivera's low shot hit the side post and went out.
With 11 minutes on the clock, S. Sivaram of Malacca received the ball
just outside the box and made an attempt which was palmed away by Negri
goalkeeper Hamsani Ahmad but the ball landed at Dipreye's feet and he
scored the equaliser.
* It was Perak all the way as they set aside NS Chempaka 3-1 at the
Perak Stadium, reports P. Chandra.
Janos Krecska gave Perak the early lead in the 28th minute and they were
hardly ruffled when Rizal Harun equalised in the 44th minute.
It was more a case of experience triumphing as Perak played a cool game.
Noel Kipri restored the lead in the 73rd minute and P. Gunasekaran
extended it in the 80th.
* KUALA LUMPUR beat Police 1-0 at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras yesterday,
reports Zakri Baharudin.
They had to rely on midfielder Azlan Meri to score the last winner in
the 80th minute.
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