Eagles Continues to Soar as Tigris edged Warriors

Kedah Eagles extended their winning streak to three matches as they beat Melaka Titans 2-1 in a tightly contested tie during their Ekspres Perdana SepakTakraw (STL) 2016 match at the Serdang Jaya Municipal Council earlier today.

The Titans’ trio of Sahidan Ali, Zarlizan Zakaria and Awan Yahya started off brightly after dispatching the Eagles’ Nazirul Akram Razali, Zuleffendi Sumari and Shahrol Nizam Romli 21-14 in the first set.

However, sloppy plays by the Titans in the second set led the Eagles back into the match as they took advantage and made their opponents pay for their mistakes, winning the match 21-15.

The introduction of backup tekong, Khobil Sapair did not help Titans’ cause as he contributed to his team’s mistakes on numerous occasions with poor services.

The Eagles made a substitution of their own in the tekong position as the introduction of Asrah Adenan in place of Nazirul Akram Razali contributed to Kedah’s second set revival.

Kedah Eagles completed the turnaround as they breezed past the Melaka side 21-14 in the rubber set. The Eagles’ win see them leapfrog Penang Black Panthers into second place having played two matches more than the Penangites.

Meanwhile, Johor Tigris bounced back from their defeat before the two weeks break to beat Kelantan Warriors 2-1.

The team from the south took the lead after Haidzir Rashid, Saifulrudin Khalid and Norhafizi Razak beat the Warriors’ Khairul Hisham Yusoff, Aidil Aiman Azwawi and Naim Izani Noor 21-16 in the first set.

Kelantan freshened their line-up heading into the second set as they switched their starting tekong Khairul with backup Hisyam Mat. The change proved vital as Hisyam played a key role in the Warriors’ 21-17 second set win.

Despite having the backing of the home fans, Kelantan Warriors could not maintain their momentum as they fall 19-21 in the final set. The result further strengthens Johor’s position in fourth while Kelantan remains in fifth.