KUALA LUMPUR: Azfar Fikri Azhar shone with a brilliant hat-trick to steer Star City to a 5-2 victory over Kelantan Red Warrior (KRW) in their Super League encounter at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium on Friday.
The visitors wasted little time asserting their authority, breaking the deadlock in the 15th minute when Azfar found the back of the net with a clinical finish. Star City doubled their advantage right on the stroke of half-time through Brazilian Pedro Santos Filho before Azfar struck his second deep into first-half stoppage time to leave the hosts with a mountain to climb at 3-0 down.
Irfan Bakti Abu Salim's men attempted to muster a fightback after the break, pulling a goal back in the 52nd minute courtesy of Mohd Faudzi.
However, any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out on the hour mark when Azfar completed his treble with an emphatic finish to restore Star City's three-goal cushion.
KRW captain Arham Khussyairi Ab Wahab gave the home fans something to cheer in the 69th minute by trimming the deficit to 4-2, but Mehmet Durakovic's charges remained in firm control.
Second-half substitute Ramon Machado then put the final stamp on an emphatic night for the visitors, calmly converting a penalty deep into second-half injury time to wrap up all three points in style.
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