Just A Few Things: Sri Pahang Vs. Selangor

Red Giants Fall At The Last Moment

My, how the tables have turned on Selangor. Last weekend, they were the subject of a last-minute frenzy when they came from behind to score two late goals and snatched a win against Petaling Jaya City in the process. This time around, it’s their turn to be at the wrong end of a last-minute goal after doing so from their own doing.

They failed to keep possession and after Manuel Konrad fouled Shahrul Nizam Nadzir by the halfway line. The free-kick was then taken quickly to find Baqiuddin Shamsudin’s run on the left and Selangor defender, Sharul Nazeem went in hot and brought the midfielder down despite Brendan Gan covering for him. Having already been booked, the referee had no option but to show the young afro defender a second yellow. From the resulting free-kick, no one picked up Abdul Malik Mat Ariff’s run at the far post and he headed in the last-gasp equalizer to snatch a point for Pahang.

The goal and the red card itself could’ve been avoided had either Konrad (Who conceded the foul that started the chain of events that lead to Pahang’s equalizer) or Oliver Buff (Who was close to the scene of Konrad’s foul) stood in front of the ball to prevent Pahang from taking it quickly to find Baqiuddin’s run on the left. Once again, it was another defensive error that cost Selangor three points yet again.

Hidalgo Rides On

Pahang revamped their foreign quota as soon as the mid-season transfer window is open. They released or deregistered four of their foreigners for another four with Herold Goulon being the sole survivor. However, one of Pahang’s new foreigners looks already like a signing-of-the-season contender.

Argentine winger Manuel Hidalgo joined the Tok Gajah after being released by English League Championship side Sheffield Wednesday six months ago. Hidalgo gave Selangor’s left side of defence a torrid time as Jordan Ayimbila and to an extent, R. Dinesh had trouble containing him whenever he runs at them, particularly Ayimbila. Hidalgo ended the night with a goal and an assist. First by squeezing past the ball past the rushing Mohd Khairulazhan moments after Malik took advantage of a Selangor defence error (Which we will go into in a bit). Then the roles were reversed Hidalgo was the one who swung the free-kick perfectly towards the far post to find Malik for the equalizer in the last action of the match.

Hidalgo has made an extremely favourable first impression and introduced himself to the Pahang faithful in style. And let’s not forget, he’s only 22 years old so he can get better from here. Pahang needed a spark to save their season, and it looks like they have found one.

Young Guns Misfire

Throughout the season, some of Selangor’s young players have been the subject of admiration as they have looked very promising in fulfilling their potential. However, almost all the young players that were involved in this match had a night they want to forget as fast as they can.

Along with Sharul’s challenge that led to his sending off and the Pahang equalizer, Danial Asri wasted a number of good attacking chances in the first half, to the point where he got substituted at half-time, Aliff Haiqal got subbed off after another laboured performance and then there’s Jordan Ayimbila, who was at fault for conceding the opener after under hitting a pass to Sharul who himself was unaware of Malik was closing him down and lead the striker to tee up Hidalgo for the opener following poor technique and lack of communication.

The other two, Mukhairi Ajmal and Hein Htet Aung deserves some credit in trying to make things happen. Htet Aung scored his first Super League goal by scoring the equalizer from point-blank range while Mukhairi looks a menace down on the left, although he needs to be a little more selfish when he got into Pahang’s box.

There’s no denying the sheer potential each of these young kids has. It’s best for them to put this behind them as quickly as they can so they can further learn from this. After all, it’s just one match. However, Selangor needs a few experienced heads, especially at the back, to help guide these kids for the better.

Ifedayo Needs To Stay Up

There’s no denying how good Ifedayo Olusegun is in the box. His goal that gave Selangor the lead was so filthy, it had no business going in as his shot went through Fazly Mazlan’s legs, went beyond the reach of Pahang keeper Helmi Eliza, hit the inside the post and eventually went in. It seems he has a penchant for scoring out of nothing and it has aided Selangor greatly.

However, in recent weeks, Ifedayo is often spotted dropping deep as a deep-lying forward to support Selangor’s midfielders and keep the play going. There’s no denying his hard work, but the Nigerian is better suited to staying high and use his fox-in-the-box ability to good use. Not only that, a deep-lying forward needs to have great dribbling and/or passing capabilities to keep the attack going, neither of which Ifedayo is known for. After all, it’s now 12 goals for Ifedayo, so it’s best he stays up there and gets ready to make a run for an impending pass. And besides, it seems Selangor failed to take advantage of Ifedayo dragging Goulon out of position on some occasions, so what was the point of this?

THIS ARTICLE IS POWERED BY CYBERLYNX INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE: EDUCATION FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM