Terengganu: Indonesia’s PSM Makassar will hope to preserve their spot at the summit of Group A as they travel to Malaysia to face Terengganu FC in their penultimate group stage fixture of the inaugural ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup™.
Both sides still harbour hopes of becoming the two sides that can progress to the semi-finals of the tournament from Group A with Terengganu FC only three points behind frontrunners PSM Makassar, who have collected seven points from three matches so far.
Terengganu, who feature stars like Safawi Rasid, Manny Ott and Akhyar Rashid, began their campaign with a surprise 3-2 defeat at the hands of Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng FC before a 2-2 draw with Vietnam’s Đông Á Thanh Hóa FC at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium on Matchday 2.
They had to wait until the third matchday to record their first win and they did it brilliantly as they overcame Myanmar’s Shan United FC 5-0 with Ott and Akhyar scoring two goals each in Yangon.
The Turtles, coached by Badrul Afzan Razali, suffered a 4-0 defeat to Johor Darul Ta’zim FC in the semi-final first leg of the Malaysia Cup on Friday and will hope to bounce back with an important win against the Indonesian visitors.
PSM Makassar, on the other hand, have won once, drawn once and lost once in their last three Liga 1 games as they sit fourth in the Indonesia top flight, but they’ve been in excellent form in the first-ever Shopee Cup with two wins and a draw from three games.
They played out a goalless draw against Thai League 1 side BG Pathum United in their opening game before a last-gasp 4-3 win against Shan United FC on Matchday 2 when Abdul Rahman scored in the 90th minute to hand them their first victory.
Nermin Haljeta scored inside the first minute as they edged Svay Rieng FC 1-0 in their most recent Shopee Cup fixture earlier this month to climb to the top of the Group A standings.
Bernardo Tavares’s side will now hope to have one foot in the semi-finals of the Shopee Cup with a win against Terengganu FC in their penultimate game of the group stage on Wednesday.
Photo: Terengganu FC
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