Kuching City Trounce Kelantan Red Warrior 5-0

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- Kuching City FC recorded a stylish victory after defeating Kelantan Red Warriors 5-0 in the Super League at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi, today.

Kuching City opened the score as early as the seventh minute through Muhammad Ramadhan Saifullah Usman who made a dive to beat goalkeeper Amin Faisal Mohd Saidi.

The advantage was then doubled in the 14th minute through import player Jerome Mpacko Etame who finished off a pass from the middle with a kick to produce Kuching City's second goal.

Muhammad Safawi Rasid ensured that Kuching City remained in front when he scored the third goal with a powerful shot in extra time, thus punishing the weakness of the opponent's defence.

Continuing in the second half, Jerome added a fourth goal from Filemon Anyie Standly’s cross in the 54th minute before Muhammad Safawi increased the pressure on the opponents by scoring the fifth goal with a swift kick in front of the goal two minutes later.

The victory saw Kuching City FC move to second place in the Super League table, while Kelantan Red Warriors FC remained at the bottom after suffering their second consecutive defeat.

Meanwhile at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, KL City FC managed to secure three points after defeating DPMM FC 1-0

The visiting team almost opened the scoring in the 28th minute through Felipe Aspegren but his shot just hit the crossbar.

The city squad also had a chance to score the first goal of the match but Paulo Josue's shot from the edge of the box in the 38th minute went just wide, thus seeing the first half end without a goal.

Continuing in the second half, both teams exchanged attacks in search of a goal.

KL City were forced to play with 10 men when midfielder Gary Steven Robat was shown a red card after fouling an opposing player towards the end of the match.

However, the situation did not dampen the spirits of Dollah Salleh's men when they finally managed to score a goal in injury time.

DPMM then managed to equalise through Dalbero Luan Belo but the goal was disallowed for being offside, giving KL City their first win of the season.

In Iskandar Puteri, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) celebrated a goalfest after thrashing Star City FC 7-0 in a Super League match at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, tonight.

Sensational striker Bergson Da Silva opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a shot inside the penalty box from a pass by Shahab Zahedi, scoring his first goal of the current Super League season.

Marcos Guilherme doubled the Southern Tigers' advantage in the 31st minute with a shot from outside the penalty box, after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review confirmed he was not in an offside position.

Bergson once again put his name on the scoresheet by beating goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy, who failed to block his shot, securing JDT's third goal four minutes later.

Xisco Munoz's relentless attacks continued to punish Star City FC when Kevin Medina easily headed in a cross from Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi in the 42nd minute to make it 4-0, while Shahab Zahedi's header completed the fifth goal during stoppage time.

Mehmed Durakovic's charges earned a good scoring opportunity in the second half when Douglas Oliveira tried to break into the JDT penalty area, but the ball was successfully intercepted by Kevin Medina in the 53rd minute.

However, the misery of the visitors continued as Carlos Akapo Martinez scored the sixth goal in the 68th minute before Bergson sealed his hat-trick in the 77th minute by converting a penalty awarded by referee Ahmad Nawal Mohammad Zubir, after Carlos Akapo's shot hit the hand of Star City FC defender Muhammad Anwar Ibrahim, and the 7-0 scoreline remained until the final whistle.

-- BERNAMA