Malacca side one win away from promotion

KUALA LUMPUR: Malacca Telekom kept up their promotion charge with a hard-earned 1-0 Group A Premier League win over Brunei at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil here last night. 

Farid Dewan, who recently received a call-up to the national team, scored the all-important goal in the 62nd minute. 

The win pushed Telekom, who were third before the match, to the top of the group with 49 points.  

Johor FC are second on 47 points while Selangor, also on 47 points, are in third spot. 

Johor FC, however, are out of the running for promotion as they have completed their fixtures, leaving Telekom and Selangor to battle it out for the only spot in next season’s Super League.  

Both Telekom and Selangor have one final game to play.  

Telekom need a win from their away game to Kelantan TNB at the National Stadium on Sunday to confirm their ticket to the Super League. 

Selangor's final game is at home against lowly Armed Forces at the Shah Alam Stadium, also to be held on Sunday. 

Last night, Telekom had to work hard to secure the win.  

Brunei, the former Malaysia Cup champions but now struggling to find their footing, managed to hold out for a scoreless first half. 

Telekom had two golden chances to break the deadlock but import striker Vidra Jozef's sitter from inside the box was saved by goalkeeper Wardun Yussof in the 22nd minute.  

Five minutes before half-time, centreback Njoh Njoh Mpondo Alain's diving header managed to beat Wardun but the woodwork stood in Telekom’s way. 

There was, however, joy for Telekom in the 62nd minute.  

From a pass by skipper Nazzab Hidzan, Farid managed to slot the ball past Wardun to give his team maximum points. 

In another insignificant match, Police outplayed bottom side Kelantan JPS 3-1. 

Malacca Telekom: Yazid Yassin, Njoh Njoh Mpondo Alain, Ramesh Lai Ban Huat, Nazzab Hidzan, Farid Dewan (Rizal Hassan), Vidra Jozef, Azlan Ahmad (Diara Bakarry), Khairun Haled Masron, Mohd Khairulanuar Jamil, Badrul Azam Zamree (Tengku Hasbullah Raja Hassan), Munir Amran 

Brunei: Wardun Yussof, Zulkifli Mohamed, Hassan Fadly Ahmad, Viban Francis Bayong, Silas Liberato Da Silva, Rosmin Kamis, Adi Ruslan Samad, Etuwe Charles Johnson Zulkefly Duraman), Shahrul Rizal Rahman, Irwan Mohamed, Sabtu Lupat