KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Foreign imports Bergson Da Silva and Fernando Martin Forestieri scored a brace each to inspire reigning Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) to a resounding 6-0 thrashing of Sarawak United at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri tonight.
JDT got off to a sizzling start when Argentine Forestieri, after receiving a pass from midfielder Muhammad Nazmi Faiz Mansor, cooly slotted home with a stiff grounder in the 15th minute.
Bergson then made it 2-0 for Benjamin Mora’s Southern Tigers with a powerful volley after receiving a pass from winger Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi in the 39th minute.
When Sarawak defender Raja Imran Shah Raja Amin was sent off for fouling Muhammad Safawi Rasid in the 60th minute, the floodgates opened up, with Bergson notching his second — and JDT’s third — of the night two minutes later.
The Southern Tigers, sensing blood, upped the ante and scored three more goals through defender Carli De Murga (71st minute), Muhammad Safawi (80th) and Forestieri (84th) to sink the Crocs and make it two wins out of two to sit atop the standings with six points.
At the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar, 2021 Super League runners-up Kedah Darul Aman FC bounced back from being a goal down to edge reigning Malaysia Cup champions Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC 3-2 on home ground.
The City Boys stunned the home fans when they opened the scoring in the 28th minute through midfielder Zhafri Yahya but the visitors’ joy was shortlived as Kedah equalised through striker Muhammad Syafiq Ahmad just four minutes later.
Substitute Mohammad Fayadh Mohd Zulkifli Amin then beat the KL City offside trap to put coach Aidil Sharin Sahak’s team 2-1 ahead in the 67th minute before import striker Dennis Buschening caught the visitors’ defence napping to net the third two minutes later.
Although Kevin Brandon Xavier Koudemba managed to pull one back for KL City in the 87th minute, it was simply a case of too little, too late.
Meanwhile, Sabah FC, under the guidance coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee, notched their first win of the season when they beat Petaling Jaya City FC 3-1 at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.
Sabah, who lost their opening match 1-0 to Negri Sembilan on Friday (March 4), opened accounts through a header by Brazilian defender Jackson De Souza in the 15th minute before doubling their advantage with another header, this time by Neto Pessoa, in the 35th minute.
Although winger S Kumaahran reduced the deficit for PJ City in the first minute of injury time in the first half, Indonesian Saddil Ramdani restored Sabah’s two-goal advantage just three minutes after the break to bag all three points. — Bernama
