Selangor under pressure after poor display in the first leg

Selangor produced a half-hearted display in their 2-0 defeat to Terengganu at home in the semi-final first leg of the Malaysia Cup on Tuesday.

 

So pathetic was Selangor's performance that even their diehard fans jeered at the players during and after the match.

The entire Selangor backline, which was the team's forte in previous matches, along with national captain Safiq Rahim and Amirulhadi Zainal, failed to play their normal game for reasons only known to them.

As for Hardi Jaafar, the temperamental midfielder was substituted after just 35 minutes by coach P.Maniam, a directive which clearly came from the FA of Selangor (FAS) management.

 

A FAS official had rushed down from the VIP sitting section onto the sidelines to instruct a third party to inform Maniam about it.

Azidan Sarudin played lone striker in the absence of injured captain Amri Yahyah but the former Kuala Lumpur captain failed to spark and was replaced by Fadzli Saari in the second half.

Maniam said his team were a bundle of nerves after Terengganu had scored a first-minute goal.

"We created a lot of opportunities but luck was not on our side. My defenders were lacking today (Tuesday). Anyway, the tie is not over yet as we have 90 minutes left to play in Kuala Terengganu," said Maniam, adding that Amri's absence also affected the team's display on Tuesday.

Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim was delighted with his team's performance.

"Attack is the best form of defence. We pressured Selangor and got an early goal and soon after that we scored our second. We came here prepared and got the result we wanted.

"We were better because our attacking players -- Ashaari (Samsuddin), Abdul Hadi (Yahya), Abdul Manaf Mamat and Joseph Kallang Tie -- played well," said the Kelantan-born coach.

Irfan, however, reminded his players not to celebrate their victory yet as they need to concentrate on the return leg in Kuala Terengganu on Saturday.

For the record, Terengganu, the FA Cup champions, have made four appearances in the Malaysia Cup final but won only once in 2001.

Abdul Manaf's wonder goal in the first minute and his second in the 33rd minute were enough to earn Terengganu victory.

The 24-year-old has pledged to help Terengganu win the title this year.

"I want to do this for my late father. I feel that no team can stop us as we have hit form. However, we cannot be too confident as Selangor can still come back in the return leg," he added.