PETALING JAYA: Romel Morales is beginning to hit top form with Johor Darul Ta'zim with two goals scored to help his team beat Sabah 3-1 in the Super League at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu.
It was all JDT in the first half with striker Morales being the star of the show on Saturday (July 13).
The naturalised Malaysian player, who was born in Colombia, got his first goal in the 20th minute when he capitalised on a mistake made by Sabah goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, by heading his meek save into the empty net.
The second showed his prowess as a technically gifted striker when he received a through pass from Portuguese midfielder Francisco Geraldes with a superb first touch and applied a low-drilled finish past Khairul in the 43rd minute.
In the second half, Sabah reduced the deficit when Brazilian centreback Gabriel Peres scored a penalty in the 48th minute.
JDT ended any hopes of a Sabah comeback when Brazilian striker Bergson Da Silva buried from the spot in injury time to give the Southern Tigers its fifth straight win in the Super League.
JDT stay at the top with 15 points, while Sabah remains fourth with seven points.
In Ipoh, Penang finally got their first win of the season when they beat Perak 2-0 at the Perak Stadium.
Brazilian playmaker Neto Oliveira buried a sumptuous free kick in the 45th minute.
Substitute striker Alif Ikmalrizal Anuar applied the killer finish when he finished off a flick from Brazilian striker Rodrigo Dias in the dying minutes of the second half.
Penang jumped to seventh with six points, while Perak remain 11th with three points.
In the evening fixture, Pahang were shocked 0-2 by Negri Sembilan at the Temerloh Stadium.
Goals for the Deer were scored by midfielder R. Barathkumar (23rd) and Japanese playmaker Takumi Sasaki (92nd).
