| Fadhil Yunus |
SETIA Perdana showed signs of a highly spirited fight despite going down in a 6-3 defeat to Wijaya FC in the DST Super League at the Berakas Sports Complex yesterday.
The DST Premier League winners were involved in another high-scoring affair but this time they contributed after firing blanks in their first match.
Setia Perdana were given a tough introduction to the top flight after a 11-0 dismantling by Kasuka FC in the first game.
But, they found signs of a fighting spirit that may go a long way towards their quest of avoiding relegation judging by their reaction after trailing 3-0.
When Md Yaziz bin Haji Mat Yakop, Marhazif Ahad and Pengiran Anaqi bin Pengiran Haji Omar Baki made it 3-0 for Wijaya in the opening 22 minutes, Setia Perdana might have been fearing the worse.
However, a goal from Aziz Hanafi bin Haji Bakti in the 41st minute gave them belief that they were still in the tie heading into the break.
Pengiran Anaqi netted his second of the game in the 55th minute to further increase the lead before Norfariz bin Sayang made it an unassailable 5-1 lead.
Setia Perdana refused to go down without a fight as efforts from Md Khairul bin Abdul Halim in the 62nd minute and Syazanarasid Haji Ibrahim in the 77th minute put them within two goals of an unlikely equaliser.
However, Norfariz bagged his brace in the 81st minute to dash Setia’s hopes of a comeback.
