Circuit 8 Round-Up
As Selangor set a new points record for the MPFL, Circuit 8 brought plenty of goals and entertainment.
Circuit 8 in Pasir Gudang produced 39 goals across eight matches over the weekend, but the result that mattered most came on Saturday night. Selangor won 6-3 at JDT, a result that means Edgar Baldasso's side cannot now be caught at the top of the regular season table. With the play-offs deciding the champions, though, Selangor have not yet won the league, and there is one circuit left to close out the regular season, in Selangor next weekend. Marlon and Evandro Borges had the visitors 3-0 up inside ten minutes, Bruno Taffy's brace either side of half time proving no more than a consolation for Joao Almeida's side.
That defeat cost JDT top spot for only a few hours. Pahang Rangers, who beat USM 2-0 on Saturday morning through Felipe De Souza and Rodrigo Da Silva, moved above JDT with a 6-1 win at PFA Odin Sarawak on Sunday, De Souza's fifth hat-trick of the season taking him level with Marlon at the top of the scoring charts on 30 for the campaign. It did not last. JDT responded emphatically, thrashing ATM 9-0 later on Sunday as Andresito completed his own hat-trick and Bukhairi Samsudin scored against his former club, to leapfrog back above Pahang and reclaim the automatic semi-final berth on goal difference.
Terengganu strengthened their own push for the top six with back-to-back wins in the same circuit for the first time this season. A 9-3 win over PFA Odin Sarawak on Saturday was followed by a 5-1 defeat of KL City on Sunday, played out with KL City's suspended head coach Jerry Dinesh Pireira watching on from the stands. Alif Mat Amin was the story of the weekend, four goals in each match, the second haul completed with virtually the last kick against KL City, to take him to 21 for the season. Terengganu now sit just three points behind fourth-placed KL City, who have played a game more.
At the other end of the table, USM eased their own concerns with a 4-1 win over Wipers on Sunday, Haikal Adam scoring twice to move USM above PFA Odin and up to ten points. ATM hang onto sixth spot and a play-off place, but only two points clear of USM going into the final circuit. Wipers, still without a league win this season, remain bottom of the pile.
With six places up for grabs and just one circuit to play, the fight for the play-offs is set to go down to the wire in Selangor next weekend.
You can watch all the highlights from every circuit on the MPFL TV Channel on YouTube.
