Friendy | Negri 1 KL PLUS 0

K Thanaraj once again gave Negri a star performance tonight when he scored from 12 yards after a good work out by winger Shahurain Abu Samah on the right flank.

Shahurain’s slick ball control exposed KL Plus left back and found Thanaraj who was unmarked in the centre of penalty box, before he clinically drove the ball to the top left corner away from the goalkeeper’s reach less than three minutes from half-time.

Earlier on, Idris Karim went close of handing Negri a lead when his header was cleared off KL Plus’s goal line from K. Thanaraj’s corner.

Ching Hong Aik who failed to recover from flu symptoms for the match is replaced by Tg Qayyum Abdullah and K Thanaraj took up the left wing position in absence of S Kunalan who is on National Team duty.

Whilst the first half was evenly contested between the two teams, the second half was a completely different story. Negri took charge with most of the possessions and went close a few times to double their lead. Idris Karim’s chipped ball from the edge of D box released Shahurain Samah with only the keeper to beat but unfortunately squandered it off the top bar.

It felt like it wasn’t to be Shahurain’s night this evening when he frequently found space on the right hand side only to either shoot the ball straight into keeper’s arm or to pass it to an empty space.

This friendly was a highly anticipated match for Negri fans as this is their first chance to catch a glimpse of our new boy Hairuddin Omar who is on loan from T-Team Trengganu. The new forward was paired up front along with Firdaus Azizul to lead Negri offensive lines.

Hairuddin Omar, who spoke exclusively to n9futbol tv after the match admitted that he is still lacking of match fitness following Premier League campaign with T-Team but he’s excited and confident to form a good understanding with the young Negri squad.

Negri will hosts UPB-MyTeam this Tuesday for the second instalment of friendly series in preparation for this year Malaysia Cup.