Selangor continued their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-1 win against Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium.
The Red Giants fielded several ex-Pahang players in the starting line-up, in what was also an emotional affair for Zainal Abidin Hassan. But that didn’t stop them from starting the game positively. Hafiz Kamal’s free kick attempt on the 4th minute mark was Selangor’s first real chance of the game, but Nasril Nourdin saved it comfortably.
Pahang responded immediately through Faisal Halim’s shot that was tipped away from Khairul Azhan. German Pacheco then had another chance, but the Argentinian could only fire wide.
But right on the 13th minute mark, Pahang seized the lead through Faisal Halim’s clinical attempt, sending the home crowd absolutely wild.
Midway through the first half, Patrick Ronaldinho and Andik Vermansyah both had good chances to open Selangor’s account, but Nasril denied them on both occassion.
Nourdin finally capitulated to Ronaldinho as the Liberian forward scored the equalizer for Selangor on the 36th minute of the game. On the brink of half-time, Ronaldinho produced a fine header to make it 2-1 for Selangor, heading into the break.
The second-half kicked-off with Selangor continuing their domination. Gopinathan continued his display of creativity as he spawned a key chance for Selangor to icnrease their lead, after being played through brilliantly by Olivi.
But his hard work finally benefited Selangor on the 67th minute as he bagged the third goal for the Red Giants after an amazing assist from Ronaldinho.
Midway through the second-half, Pahang finally had a golden to reduce the deficit though Pachecho’s effort was parried away to safety by Khairul Azhan.
Right at the end of the game, the Elephants missed yet another key chance. This time around, it was Matthew Davies, but yet again, Khairul Azhan was well positioned to tip the ball away to safety.
The referee blew the whistle on the 94th minute, as Selangor clinched their second win of the season.
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