Selangor gained all three points in their first home game of the Malaysia Super League (MSL) after overcoming Sarawak 4-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Selayang Stadium tonight.
Selangor coach Zainal Abidin fielded a strong line-up with Nazmi Faiz and Hafiz Kamal in the heart of midfield. Andik Vermansyah was replaced by S. Veenod on the flank. Datuk K. Rajagopal started all of his foreign players with the hope of winning his first MSL match.
The Red Giants started the match well by dictating the tempo of the play and creating the first chance of the game. Patrick Wleh could have broken the deadlock for the after a great cross by R. Gopinathan, but his attempt was blocked by The Crocs’ captain, Ronny Harun.
A couple of minutes later, a great pass by Ndumba Makeche set Juninho up and the Brazilian midfielder slotted it past Norazlan Razali in goal. The Selangor fans went silent as he scored his second goal of the M-League season.
Zainal Abidin instructed his players to pick up the pace in order to equalize immediately and get the second goal after. Ronaldinho almost levelled the game but his first time volley flew just above the bar on the 11th minute.
Halfway through the first half, R. Gopinathan equalized after a brilliant pass by Ronaldinho. The ex-Pahang midfielder blasted it from close distance to send the home fans into ecstasy. A few minutes later, R. Gopinathan played the provider by sending in a corner for Ronaldinho to head home the lead for the Red Giants.
The Sarawak players were shocked to concede two goals in three minutes and decided to up the tempo of their game. Juninho played an impressive through ball to Gilmar, who shot it just above Norazlan Razali’s goal on the 28th minute.
Gilmar came close again after his shot from outside the box was brilliantly saved by Norazlan Razali, before missing a header from 5 yards out after the ball was whipped in from a corner.
Sarawak instantly piled pressure on Selangor after the break as Gilmar’s effort was stopped by the Selangor goalkeeper. He was in action again after saving Makeche’s soft header on the 55th minute.
However, a counter-attack from the home side saw Mauro Olivi make a great run before attempting at goal, which was saved by Sarawak goalkeeper Iqbal Suhaimi and Patrick Ronaldinho Wleh pounced on the rebound to score his fifth goal of the MSL season.
Mauro Olivi could have made it four for Selangor but his shot flew to the UltraSel section of the stadium. Despite his miss, he set up Azrif Nasrulhaq who blasted it to the roof of the net. He immediately ran to the home fans and did a ‘Cristiano Ronaldo-esque’ celebration.
Sarawak won a penalty after team captain Shahrom Kalam handled the ball in the box. Gilmar converted from the spot on the 78th minute to score his first goal of the season.
Harimau Malaysia head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee was in the stands.
The referee blew the final whistle to indicate all three points for the home side.
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