NEGERI Sembilan registered a 2-1 win over defending champions Perak in Group A but victory came too late as Selangor and Federal Territory pulled away to qualify for the Malaysia Games quarterfinals.
It was Perak who took the lead in the 20th minute through Muhammad Ikfan Mohd Rozi.
|Negeri Sembilan, however, Â went on the march after this and were rewarded with goals from Muhammad Danish Syamer Tajuddin (72nd minute) and Muhammad Afiq Fitri in the 81st minute at the Universiti Malaya Arena.
Selangor and Federal Territory also completed their Group A preliminary round fixtures with a 1-1 draw.
FT shot into a 1-0 lead by the 20th minute through Muhamad Adam Mukriz goal but Selangor clawed back through Muhammad Adim Muzahhir’s goal for the equaliser in the 36th minute.
In the final group standings Selangor and FT share seven-equal points. However, Selangor lead the table on a superior goal difference. Negeri Sembilan are positioned third (3 points) and Perak at the bottom (0 points).
In Group B, Johor consolidated its position at the top of the standings following a 2-0 victory against Sarawak in their last preliminary round match at the Uniten Stadium. Muhammad Naqiu Aiman (48th minute) and Daryl Sham George (90th). The southern tigers have seven points and Sarawak three.
Pahang and Malacca settled for a 2-2 draw in a Group B match at the UiTM stadium. Pahang, with 5 points, joined Johor into the last eight. Iman Syakir Amzan (40th) and Nur Muhammad Alamin (90th) scored for Pahang while Muhammad Azizan Khalid replied for Malacca.
Matches scheduled on Saturday are between Sabah vs Kelantan (Group C) and Kedah v Penang.
