FA Cup champions Terengganu took a step closer to their second Cup final of the season with a convincing 2-0 win over Selangor in the first-leg of the Malaysia Cup semi-final clash at the Shah Alam Stadium last night.
Hotshot Abdul Manaf Mamat was the hero for the east coast side, scoring a brace in the first and 33rd minutes to give the Turtles a comfortable two-goal cushion for the return leg match at the Sultan Ismail Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday.
Selangor, backed by 25,000 home fans, were silenced in the very first minute when attacking midfielder Abdul Manaf – still grieving the loss of his father last Friday – took a pass from Ashaari Shamsuddin to score with a cheeky backheel past Selangor goalkeeper G. Jeevanathan.
Stunned, Selangor doubled their efforts in search of an equaliser. However, they were let down by poor finishing.
Even their free-kick specialist Safiq Rahim suffered an off-day, sending two eff orts wide off the mark in the 13th and 16th minutes.
But Selangor slowly, and steadily, began to take control of the match as the visitors preferred to soak up all the pressure and hit the Red Giants on the counter attack.
For all their possession and domination, Selangor simply lacked a clinical finisher.
Terengganu’s game plan of sitting back and hitting on the break suited the attacking trio of Ashaari, Joseph Kallang Tie and Abdul Hadi Yahya to perfection.
A lapse in concentration by the Selangor defenders then led to Abdul Manaf shooting past the diving Jeevanathan for his second goal in the 33rd minute.
Although Selangor coach P. Maniam brought in Rudie Ramlie to replace veteran midfielder Hardi Jaafar to add more bite to their attack in the 36th minute, the Red Giants ended the first half without a goal to show for.
Selangor went all out to look for goals in the second half, leaving their backline susceptible to fast breakaways by Terengganu.
And that was exactly what happened as Terengganu beat the offside trap on many occasions only to be denied by Jeevanathan.
When the final whistle blew, the 2,500 Turtles supporters were pleasantly surprised by the two-goal win – and attractive counter-attacking game displayed by their team.
As for Selangor, their quest for a 33rd Malaysia Cup triumph is virtually up in smoke.
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