11 Jan Selangor continue winning streak

IT was billed as a top-of-the-table clash but the outcome was never in doubt as Selangor reinforced their credentials as the team to watch out for this season with a 3-0 win over Negri Sembilan in a Malaysian Super League clash at the Shah Alam Stadium last night. Victory was their third in succession and given how treble champs Kedah are wobbling, it is hard to see who can stop Selangor from romping away with the title, which they are desperate to win after having to live with the stigma that they are no longer the giants of Malaysian football for the last couple of seasons. Negri, who went into the tie as leaders on goal difference, thought they had a chance but it was obvious there is still much to do before they can hope to challenge Selangor.

Their back-to-back wins over Kedah and Perak saw Selangor walking out to a sight that has long been absent from the Shah Alam Stadium, a crowd of some 25,000. While the empty seats still outnumbered the turnout in the 70,000 capacity stadium, Selangor would have been glad after having been reduced to playing before just a couple of thousands last season. They nearly had a roaring start too but Amirulhadi Zainal was a little slow in connecting to a cross from Safee Sali in the 15th minute. It was a warning about Selangor’s seriousness and five minutes later, Amirulhadi made up for his earlier miss by shooting past Negri Sembilan goalkeeper Mohd Farizal Hassan. For new Selangor coach K. Devan, the honeymoon was continuing and as his charges continued pressing, it was apparent that the second goal would soon be coming. Negri were helpless and their plight was made worse by the absence of Shukor Adan in midfield, no thanks to a hamstring injury. And their agony worsened in the 22nd minute when R. Surendran capitalised on Farizal’s hesitance to score a soft goal but Selangor weren’t complaining and neither were their fans.

The best from Negri centred around striker Zaquan Adha and he did come close in the 35th minute but Selangor goalkeeper Hamsani Omar was equal to the effort. Selangor took their foot off the pedal a little in the second half but there was no reason to press hard as Negri just couldn’t muster a strong challenge. What made their plight worse was Selangor scored again, through Amri Yahya in the 74th minute, as they share top spot with KL Plus