Just A Few Things: Selangor Vs. PKNS
Credits: Football Malaysia LLP
One Red Giant Step To Bukit Jalil
Given the nature of their opponent and previous results, it was expected to be a close match. But Selangor completely tore the form book to shreds. They cut through the PKNS defence like it was a piece of paper as they held the blade of a sword that saw them slam four goals past PKNS. Amri Yahyah was as usual the architect to all the Selangor attacks. His vision and passing found the lightning-quick runs of either D. Kugan and Ilham Armaiyn or the physical presence of one particular Spanish striker.
The amount of space that Selangor had was vast and the Selangor players, especially Amri, utilized it to full perfection. Even at the back, Alfonso De La Cruz and Willian Pacheco looked solid. They looked like they learned their lesson in marking Rafael Ramazotti following the last meeting between these two sides. K. Kannan was taken for a ride by Faris Ramli at Shah Alam a few weeks ago, but he too improved greatly to stop the Singapore winger’s influence and also looked hungrier when winning the ball.
Selangor has taken a huge step to the FA Cup final in some style. But they still have a second leg to play. Get an away goal or two and the fans can start booking tickets.
No Words About Rufino
No amount of words in the English or the Malay language can describe the night Rufino Segovia had or justify the ability he possesses. Every positive thing that can be said about him is possibly already said. Selangor’s Spanish sensation just keep on scoring and scoring and it’s going to take a big firetruck to douse the fire he is on right now. He must’ve love scoring against PKNS because according to Football Malaysia, he has now scored around six goals in all four of his matches against PKNS after his tremendous hat-trick last night
Let’s look at his contributions in this match: His hold-up play was excellent in order for support to arrive, his shooting was lethal, he often found himself in excellent positions for his teammates to find him, and his work-rate immense. He’s building a legacy for himself at Selangor. He can further solidify it if the Red Giants do go all the way and win the FA Cup.
PKNS Set-Up Backfired
K. Rajagobal made at least two changes that last drew 2-2 to the Red Giants at Shah Alam Stadium before the Raya break. These changes were that Zac Anderson dropping out as part of the four-import quota in cup competitions and Jafri Firdaus Chew preferred over Safee Sali. Needless to say, it turned out to be disastrous. The last time they were taken apart like this was against Johor Darul Takzim at Larkin earlier in the season.
The defence sadly looked flimsy without Anderson’s influence. Rodney Celvin and Azmizi Azmi had an extremely tough time winning aerial duals against Rufino, let alone attempting to contain his influence. Their full-backs were caught out of position a lot of times, the only thing notable about Jafri was being bought off at half-time, Bruno Matos was guarded closely so he couldn’t be the creative spark PKNS needed. How will they bounce back from four goals down in the second leg is anyone’s guess. It’s not impossible though, but still extremely difficult.
Welcome Back, Razman
A healthy lead heading into the second leg and a clean sheet. What more could a Selangor fan can ask for a better night? There is something that does further bring out that feel good moment every Selangor fan has. The return of captain Razman Roslan.
Razman Roslan was absent for quite a long time and only named on the bench. The moment the electronic board showed his number 13 in green light, it drew applause from Selangor fans as he replaced Amirul Ashraf with only five minutes to go. Even Amri Yahyah showed a nice gesture by handing the captain’s armband to Razman.
He was bought on to bring freshness to the backline and almost immediately got booked for stopping a promising PKNS attack. It was only five minutes but he got the job done as PKNS was unable to score a late away goal. The question now is if he is able to break into the starting 11 again given that Alfonso and Willian Pacheco has formed a good partnership.