Yong Kuong Yong is reaping rich dividends after being restored to an attacking position as his three goals in two matches have seen Kuala Lumpur make a blazing start to the Malaysia Cup.
A knee injury has restricted Kuong Yong, 24, to just 20 appearances this season, when he played mostly on the right wing from where he scored two goals in the Super League.
An Olympic call-up for KL striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, however, forced coach Razip Ismail to play Kuong Yong upfront alongside Badrul Hisyam Azmi in the Malaysia Cup.
The Port Dickson-born forward responded with a goal in the 3-0 opening win over Police before bagging a brace in KL's brilliant 2-1 win ove Kuala Terengganu T-Team on Saturday which unexpectedly left KL top of Group D with six points, three ahead of T-Team and Selangor, who they meet in Selayang today.
Kuong Yong's cool left-footed strike into the far corner to open the scoring was followed by a header early in the second half to jointly top the goal-scoring chart with Negri Sembilan's Hairuddin Omar.
Not wanting to single out any player for special praise, Razip said KL played probably their best match of the season in beating T-Team for a third straight time in 2011.
"I have to salute my players, especially the way they defended in the second half," said Razip. "Everybody showed good response to my instructions and Kuong Yong scored two beautiful goals.
"I never imagined we would have six points after two games. The players have worked hard for the wins but it's still early days yet.
"We've got Selangor to play next and that will be a very hard game. They also won on Saturday (2-0 against Police) and we will have to redouble our efforts if we are to get something."
KL have not beaten Selangor in six meetings since their last win in the 2007 Malaysia Cup, including a 1-1 draw in Shah Alam and a 2-1 defeat in Cheras in the league this season.
But with Selangor struggling to find their feet, today's clash promises to be an exciting Klang Valley derby with more than just pride at stake.
A knee injury has restricted Kuong Yong, 24, to just 20 appearances this season, when he played mostly on the right wing from where he scored two goals in the Super League.
An Olympic call-up for KL striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, however, forced coach Razip Ismail to play Kuong Yong upfront alongside Badrul Hisyam Azmi in the Malaysia Cup.
The Port Dickson-born forward responded with a goal in the 3-0 opening win over Police before bagging a brace in KL's brilliant 2-1 win ove Kuala Terengganu T-Team on Saturday which unexpectedly left KL top of Group D with six points, three ahead of T-Team and Selangor, who they meet in Selayang today.
Kuong Yong's cool left-footed strike into the far corner to open the scoring was followed by a header early in the second half to jointly top the goal-scoring chart with Negri Sembilan's Hairuddin Omar.
Not wanting to single out any player for special praise, Razip said KL played probably their best match of the season in beating T-Team for a third straight time in 2011.
"I have to salute my players, especially the way they defended in the second half," said Razip. "Everybody showed good response to my instructions and Kuong Yong scored two beautiful goals.
"I never imagined we would have six points after two games. The players have worked hard for the wins but it's still early days yet.
"We've got Selangor to play next and that will be a very hard game. They also won on Saturday (2-0 against Police) and we will have to redouble our efforts if we are to get something."
KL have not beaten Selangor in six meetings since their last win in the 2007 Malaysia Cup, including a 1-1 draw in Shah Alam and a 2-1 defeat in Cheras in the league this season.
But with Selangor struggling to find their feet, today's clash promises to be an exciting Klang Valley derby with more than just pride at stake.
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