KUALA LUMPUR: Terengganu produced a blistering first-half display to crush Super League newcomers Melaka FC 4-0 at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium on Friday.
The hosts struck first in the 27th minute when a VAR review confirmed Azam Azmi Murad had timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before Yan Mabella rounded Melaka goalkeeper Firdaus Irman Fadhil to slot home.
Nurillo Tukhtasinov doubled the lead seven minutes later with a neat finish, and Terengganu were handed a further boost in the 42nd minute when Melaka’s Che Rashid Che Halim was shown a straight red card for handling the ball in the box.
Raianderson Morais, better known as Careca, converted the resulting penalty to make it 3-0.
With Melaka reeling, Mabella added his second in first-half stoppage time (45+5) to give the Turtles a commanding four-goal lead at the break.
The win lifted Terengganu to second in the table with 10 points, though they remain five points behind leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
Melaka, meanwhile, dropped to 10th on three points and are still chasing their first-ever Super League win.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
