Bulgarian coach Velizar Popov took charge of his first game as Kelantan boss and secured a vital point after a goalless draw with Selangor at the Shah Alam Stadium earlier tonight.
The Red Giants head coach Zainal Abidin was without Azrif Nasrulhaq and Razman Roslan replaced him at right-back. Adam Nor, who scored the winning goal against T-Team on May 4, started from the bench. The new Pamoga Qu Puteh The Red Warriors (PQPTRW) head coach, Velizar Popov, left foreign players Dramane Traore and Jonathan Lucca out of his starting line-up as he resorted to a 4-5-1 formation with Blazhe Ilijoski leading the lines. Australian defender Jonathan McKain is still out from the squad due to an injury.
Six players including Azrif Nasrulhaq were called up by national team head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee in the upcoming matches against Myanmar and Timor-Leste. They consist of the right-back, Shahrom Kalam, R. Gopinathan, Hazwan Bakri, Brendan Gan and Khairul Fahmi.
The match kicked off and the team from the East Coast dictated the play from the get go, mainly because of the huge Kelantanese support at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight.
The first shot of the game was from the home side on the 17th minute through Nazmi Faiz, who came on a substitute in the early stages of the game for an injured Saiful Ridzuwan Selamat. The ex-PKNS midfielder saw his first-time shot sail a few inches off target.
A minute later, an error from Selangor defender Robert Cornthwaite allowed Blazhe Ilijoski the time and space to shoot at goal, but his attempt was directly hit at Norazlan Razali. The visitors managed to put the ball at the back of the net through an Indra Putra header but the midfielder was in an offside position before team captain Badhri Radzi delivered the free-kick.
Things turned sour for Kelantan when Wan Zack Haikal was sent off on the 26th minute for elbowing R. Gopinathan in the face. The ex-FC Ryukyu winger was nowhere near the ball.
The Red Giants began applying the pressure on the away side when an Andik Vermansyah free-kick found Robert Cornthwaite’s head on the 28th minute, but it was brilliantly saved by Khairul Fahmi. The goalkeeper was in the thick of action again as he saved Mauro Olivi’s left-footed attempt a few minutes later. Referee Syed Azhar Kamar, who officiated the Superbest Power FA Cup final between Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) and PKNS last week, made a bold call by not awarding Selangor a penalty after Patrick Ronaldinho was brought down by Apek.
The second half kicked off and Liberian international Patrick Ronaldinho Wleh was forced to leave the pitch for Ahmad Hazwan Bakri after suffering an injury to his hamstring.
The visitors almost opened the scoring ten minutes into the half when Blazhe Ilijoski was clean through on goal after a brilliant through ball from Brendan Gan but the Macedonian striker blasted his effort just above Norazlan Razali’s goal. Five minutes later, Selangor could have gained the lead but Ahmad Hazwan Bakri’s effort just flew a couple of inches wide.
The tempo of the game slowed down twenty minutes later as both teams seemed tired.
The match ended 0-0 and Zainal Abidin Hassan would be disappointed with his team.
Selangor will travel to Kelantan this weekend to kick off the second half of the season.
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