Ivory Coast hitman Kipre Tchetche has finally ended his drought in the Malaysian Super League this season with a double strike that gave Terengganu a much deserved 2-1 win over Felda United in Friday’s Super League match at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.
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Tchetche had gone nine matches without a goal to show for Terengganu in the league but he seems to have broken the jinx when he also scored for the Turtles in their come-from-behind 3-1 win over Kelantan United in an FA Cup third round match in Kota Bahru on Tuesday.
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Felda United went into the match against Terengganu with a “giant killer” tag after knocking out Selangor out of the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over the Red Giants at Shah Alam Stadium.
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However, Terengganu, after three successive defeats in the league were not in the mood to let the home fans down. With English-born skipper Lee Tuck in the thick of the action and veteran goalkeeper Suffian Abdul Rahman, a confident figure between the posts dictated terms.
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Felda too had Norazlan Razali thwarting the Terengganu strikeforce as the last line of defense. The former international, however, could not stop Tchetche from hitting the target on 50 minutes – with an unstoppable shot.
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Tchetche’s second came in the last minute of regulation time with a big dose of luck. Felda skipper Jasazrin Jamaluddin’s poor back pass was picked up by Tchetche and Norazaln was beaten for the second time.
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Felda – known as The Fighters – did not give up and deep into added timeÂ
Kei Ikeda scored his team’s consolation goal.
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Terengganu, after 10 matches, is sixth in the 12-team league with 12 points on goal difference while Felda remained in relation zone with only seven points – above bottom-placed Kuala Lumpur who have only four points from eight matches. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH