KUALA LUMPUR – Selangor FC showed no signs of rustiness as they defeated Kedah FC 1-0 in their Malaysia Super League encounter at the MBPJ Stadium today.
The home side dominated the early exchanges, with an early chance coming to Alvin Fortes in the fifth minute.
However, the Cape Verdean midfielder failed to put his shot on target, with teammate Mukhairi Ajmal following suit just a couple of minutes later.
Syafiq Ahmad, who is on loan with the Canaries from Johor Darul Ta’zim, nearly scored his second goal in the Super League campaign after receiving a pass from Abdul Halim Saari, only to be denied by Selangor goalkeeper Samuel Somerville in the 15th minute.
Sony Norde, who recently joined Kedah FC from Terengganu FC, constantly tormented the flanks and created numerous chances for Syafiq.
However, the 28-year-old was not clinical enough upfront, missing at least three glorious goal-scoring chances in the first 35 minutes of the game.
Samuel, who has made a total of 28 appearances for Selangor FC, pulled off a superb save from a Sony free-kick to keep Selangor in the game in the dying minutes of the first half.
Meanwhile, it was a much-improved Selangor side in the second half as they created more chances.
Nooa Laine, who started the game in the right midfield, made use of the freedom given to him by head coach Nidzam Jamil.
The 21-year-old could be seen rotating his position with Yohandry Orozco on the left, which saw Selangor create a total of seven chances through their 4-1-4-1 system.
Syafiq’s misery continued in the second half when he missed a free header to put his side in the lead after easily defeating Sharul Nazeem in the air in the 75th minute.
The breakthrough of the game came in the 75th minute, when midfielder Aliff Haiqal, who has made a total of 56 appearances for the Red Giants, scored with a fierce shot in the penalty box after receiving a cheeky backheel pass from Noor Al-Rawabdeh.
The 23-year-old Kajang-born player celebrated with the home fans with the iconic “siu” celebration as a tribute to his teammate Faisal Halim, who recently became a victim of an acid attack.
Syahir Bashah, who came on as a substitute for striker Ronnie Fernandez, missed an easy chance to double the lead for Selangor after receiving a fine pass from Reziq Bani Hani from the left wing, his shot hitting the right side of the goal post.
Selangor currently ranks seventh in the Super League table, with three points from two games. – May 18, 2024