26 Nov Turtles proving to be indestructible

Terengganu Turtles took Melaka Titans for a walk in the park when they strolled to an easy 2-0 win in their Ekspres Perdana Sepak Takraw League (STL) 2016 match which took place at the Serdang Jaya Municipal Council Stadium, today.

It took only 40 minutes for the league leaders, Turtles to send the Titans packing back with zero points in this round of the STL, after yesterday’s defeat to Johor Tigris which saw them remain at the summit of the league.

Turtles came into the match with wariness at the back of their mind after they only managed to scrape out a 2-1 win (22-20, 17-21, 21-17) in their previous meeting in the reverse fixture, early October.

Vitaya Boonta, Turtles Thailand-born coach fielded a strong line-up with only their talismen, Fadzli Roslan and Hanafiah Dollah missing out due to injury. Kamal Alfiza Shafie (striker) in place of Fadzli, playing only in his third match of the season continued to impress while providing Vitaya with a selection headache once Fadzli recovers from injury.

Titans trio Sahidan Ali (tekong), Lutfi Asiman (feeder) and Azwan Yahya (striker) trailed the Turtles early on by 8 points in the first set and the Turtles maintained that gap for the most part of the set before going on to win 21-11.

The second set provided no difference as Turtles again overcame the Titans with the same scoreline to go home with a record 10th consecutive victory putting them one hand on the title after already qualifying for the playoff spot with only four matches remaining.

Titans on the brink of relegation will next play Kedah Eagles who is also struggling to replicate their early-season form which saw them occupy third place before dropping down to sixth.

Kelantan Warriors who endured a rough path during the month of November after back-to-back losses would have thought that they could have salvaged their season after yesterday’s victory over Eagles only to find themselves back down the drain again after falling to Kuala Lumpur Thunder 2-0 in the second match of the day at the Serdang Jaya Municipal Council Stadium.

The in-form Thunder’s put on a superb performance as they dented Warriors hopes of a final playoff spot acquiring only 35 minutes to claim a 21-10, 21-10 win in the first and second set respectively.

Warriors’ trio Aizat Nor Azmi (tekong), Amirul Zazwan Amir (feeder) and Zamree Dahan (striker) performances proved important as they signal a warning to second place, Penang Black Panthers whom they face tomorrow as both teams play catch up with Turtles at the top spot.