TERENGGANU FC overcame their Turtles nickname by scoring three first-half goals during a convincing 4-1 victory over neighbours Kelantan The Real Warriors FC in their Super League match at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.
The home side started aggressively and thought they had scored in the ninth minute only for the Video Assistant Referee to disallow the goal due to an offside call against Rainderson Morais.
Terengganu properly opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when defender Diego Landis reacted quickest to a parried free kick from Nurillo Tukhtasinov.
Tukhtasinov then scored himself seven minutes later with a clever lob over the out-of-position Kelantan goalkeeper Muhammad Azfar Arif Mohd Sukri.
The Turtles extended their lead to 3-0 in the 40th minute as star striker Yan Mabella finished clinically from Muhammad Azam Azmi Murad’s cross.
Kelantan showed resilience after halftime and reduced the deficit through substitute T. Saravanan’s 51st-minute goal.
Any hopes of a dramatic comeback were extinguished when Mabella completed his brace with Terengganu’s fourth goal in the 72nd minute.
Terengganu now sit third in the 13-team Super League standings with 13 points from seven matches.
Kelantan The Real Warriors remain in sixth position with eight points after the same number of games. – Bernama