Perak’s trend of ‘keeping it tight’ continued as they sealed a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg of their FA Cup quarter-final tie against Kuala Lumpur earlier today
The Seladangs lined up with their usual 4-4-2, though as usual, the partnership of Shahrul Saad and Thiago – which has looked stupendous this year – was retained at the heart of their defence.
While the partnership was evidently successful in keeping a clean sheet yet again, one half of the partnership went the extra mile by helping the Seladangs net the only goal of the game.
Merely seven minutes into the game, Perak were awarded a corner-kick. Nuri stepped up to produce the delivery, and Thiago’s header was deflected into the back of the net, via Helmi Remeli, to open the score line.
But as the game progressed, Thiago continued to dominate every battle with Kuala Lumpur’s Anselmo Arruda, keeping him at bay for most of the match. He was equally influential in organizing Perak’s defence for the entire 90 minutes.
A couple of other notable performances came from Eric Weeks Lewis and Nurridzuan Abu Hassan.
The Liberian playmaker showed fantastic glimpses of what he was capable of – threading excellent through balls in the first half. Nurridzuan was equally tenacious in the first 45 minutes, though unfortunately, both men struggled to impose themselves after the break.
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