KUALA LUMPUR: Negri Sembilan snapped Kedah's 15-match unbeaten run in the Premier League with a 2-0 win in Paroi on Friday as the race for promotion to the Super League intensified.
Kedah's defeat, their first in the league since March 6, allowed Penang and Kuala Terengganu T-Team to narrow the gap at the top to three points with just two rounds of fixtures remaining.
Negri's Francis Doe and N. Thanabalan scored in the last 16 minutes of the match to leave Kedah stuck on 42 points.
Penang hammered Sabah 4-0 at the City Stadium in Georgetown with goals from Azniee Taib (two), Elias Sulaiman and Faiz Subri to move past T-Team into second place on goal difference.
T-Team were held to 2-2 draw by Universiti Teknologi Mara in Shah Alam, their second draw in four days against a lowly team.
Sadriddin Abdulaev scored twice for T-Team only for UiTM to reply through Syafiq Mokhtar and Aiman Syazwan Abdullah.
PKNS kept their slim promotion hopes alive but will rue not taking full points after being held 1-1 by DRB-Hicom in Tanjung Malim where the latter's Ivan Babic scored the equaliser in 75th minute and was then sent off nine minutes later.
Faiz Isa had put fourth-placed PKNS, who trail Penang and T-Team by four points, ahead after 17 minutes.
Kuala Lumpur's battle against relegation took a turn for the worse after letting a lead given by Choi Hyun-yeon slip as Johor battled back through goals by Zaquan Adha Radzak and Akmal Ishak to win 2-1 in Pasir Gudang.