Just A Few Things: Selangor Vs. Kelantan

Credit: Selangor FA

Rufino Turning Into A Club Legend

It’s scary to think about where would Selangor be without Rufino Segovia. Perhaps in a much worse position in the league table and severely lacking goals. But here he is, the Spanish marvel banging in the goals including a hat-trick against the ever inexperienced Kelantan side that propel not only Selangor further away from the relegation zone but also create a gap between him and Terengganu’s Kipre Tchetche in the top goal scorers chart.

Rufino reminded everyone why he deserves to get plaudits. All three of his goals were excellent finishes: First he turned to shoot by the edge of the box on the left, the second was a squeezing a low shot inside of Fikri Che Soh’s near post from a tight angle and his third was a rocket shot into the top left of the net, all with his left foot. According to the FMLLP Twitter, he now has scored 26 goals in 28 games for Selangor. His technique & finish was tremendous and hopes to continue his scoring streak with a crucial double-header against PKNS FC within seven days.

Amri The Ever Reliable Assistant

Other than Rufino, Amri Yahyah also had a good night. The ever precise playmaker, he bossed his markers and provided two assists for Rufino’s second goal and Evan Dimas after he was afforded so much space to shoot where he opted to pass to the Indonesian midfielder to fool the incoming Kelantan defence.

He may be in his late-thirties but his creativity is as good as ever. His link-up play with Rufino was exceptional and his crosses & passes were precise but sadly unable to be fully converted by his teammates. He was not contained properly and he was allowed to create promising chances. There is no sign of him losing his edge here and hopefully for the Red Giants he remains consistent like Rufino does.

Kelantan’s Problem Becomes Apparent

To their credit, Kelantan actually started brightly, playing sharp passes, looked more energetic in their movements and managed to discomfort Selangor. But sadly, it dissipated after about 20 minutes and allowed Selangor a strong foothold in the game that lead to three goals in eight short minutes.

They have a tendency to take their foot off the pedal when they looked the better side. Their somewhat intense pressure became non-existent as time goes on, Even though they had a good spell momentarily during the second half, they never looked close to troubling Khairul Azhan. They only showed glimpses of what the can do but now the question remains: What else that needs to be done for the Kelantan team to be a lot more solid?

Unpopular Opinion Time

There’s a trend about unpopular opinions on Twitter lately. And there is one that will be said here. Despite all their problems this season, perhaps Fajr Ibrahim is the right man to take this team further. It’s a wacky opinion yes, but his no-nonsense and tough approach may what this youthful side need for the long-term. With a young side like this, stability is key in order to avoid any disruption to their development.

But their mismanagement remains a large stain that will take a long time to clean, especially with how they handle the departures of their long-serving players, Khairul Fahmi and Badhri Radzi and also how Fajr handled some of his current players, namely Do Dong-Hyun. Still, they deserve some admiration for promoting youth talent.

With the way Kelantan has been capitulating this season, relegation may be the best for them. Drop down to the 2nd division to lessen the closure on them, allow the young players to be more assuring and Fajr can work from there. Although given the Kelantan FA management’s history, doubt they will see this way.