THREE straight wins have put Perlis United in the driving seat to qualify for the quarter-finals of the M3 League after beating fellow last-eight contenders Kuala Lumpur Rovers 2-1 in Kangar on Saturday.
Sadam Hashim scored the Perlis United winner in the 66th minute from a counter-attack for his sixth goal of the season to put his fourth-placed club four points clear of Bukit Tambun in fifth with five games remaining in Group B.
The deciding goal came nine minutes after Shafiq Shaharudin equalised for Rovers to cancel Ikhmal Ibrahim's 21st-minute penalty for the hosts, who defeated Real Chukai (2-1) and Persada Integriti Bersatu (4-1) in their previous two outings.
"I am quite confident we can secure a quarter-final spot now that we are fourth," said Perlis United coach Azizul Abidin, who guided his side to an upset of Premier League side Police in the FA Cup first round earlier this season.
"We have now set a top-three target for the team just to make sure we make it because to stay fourth would mean giving another team a chance to catch us and snatch it."
Perlis United will attempt to extend their winning run this Saturday when they host Respect, whose own quarter-final ambitions took a hit with a 1-0 defeat to Bukit Tambun in Ipoh, no thanks to Syukur Saidin's 47th-minute strike.
Harini FT extended their lead at the top of Group B to three points as Hafiz Kamal and Rahmanshah Marajeh scored in a 2-0 win — their fourth in a row — over Tok Janggut Warriors in Kota Baru.
BRM Kuala Kangsar and PIB faltered in their chase of Harini after battling to a 0-0 draw at the Perak Stadium on Sunday to remain second and third, respectively, on 24 points.
Kinabalu Jaguar remain unbeaten after 12 matches in Group A after edging a top-of-the-table clash with Armed Forces 1-0 at Likas, settled by Jenius Karib's penalty in the seventh minute.
The Sabah club, with a 14-point advantage over fifth-placed Malaysian University, can clinch a quarter-final berth with a win over Tun Razak City at Universiti Malaya on Saturday. A draw might be enough if other results go their way.
Manjung City regained the second spot on 28 points, four behind Kinabalu, by beating Tun Razak 3-0 in Manjung, with Syamin Baharuddin on target twice after C. Sasikumar had opened the scoring.
Firdaus Azizul bagged a hat-trick to overtake Faiz Ibrahim of Forces as the league's leading scorer with nine goals and help Immigration rout Langkawi City 6-1 in Nilai.
Fauzi Majid, Alif Romli and Fauzi Latif also scored for Immigration, who stayed three points ahead of Malaysian University in the race to finish in the top four.
RESULTS - Group A: Kinabalu Jaguar 1 Armed Forces 0, Immigration 6 Langkawi City 1, Malaysian University 3 FC Langkawi 1, Manjung City 3 Tun Razak City 0.
Group B: Kijang Rangers 2 Real Chukai 0, Respect 0 Bukit Tambun 1, Tok Janggut Warriors 0 Harini FT 2, Perlis United 2 KL Rovers 1, BRM Kuala Kangsar 0 PIB 0.
