Just A Few Things: KL vs. Kelantan

Photo credit: KLFA Official

KL Gives Kelantan A Painful Lesson

Kelantan’s youthful squad gave an eye-opening performance the last time these two teams met at Kota Bharu a few weeks ago. Last night however, Kuala Lumpur inflicted massive payback. KL not only punished slack marking but also exploited the amounts of space left behind by the full-backs where the wingers enjoyed running into and around the central area by making incisive passes.

KL proceeded to score five goals and could’ve scored more had they been more clinical in a few of their chances or their passing was a lot more accurate, especially late in the second half where Indra Putra was guilty of misplacing a few of them when it looked so promising. Although, he could be forgiven after the exceptional performance by the Hawks in this match. A very deserving victory for KL in the end that will boost their confidence, especially when a daunting away trip to Pahang beckons.

Hot & Cold Kelantan

Despite being two goals down, Kelantan responded well to get something back. They were quick to pressure KL when they had possession and also were sharp during the attack. They got their reward six minutes after KL’s second when Shafiq Shaharudin ran ahead of a static KL defence to tap in a low cross.

It could’ve been a whole different story when shortly after Guilherme De Paula restored KL’s two goal lead, Nik Azli Nik Alias found himself in a promising position by running down the centre to receive a through pass. Had desperate defending not thwarted him, it would’ve been 3-2. Their night became worse when Shafiq was forced off injured minutes before half-time. Even his replacement, Afiq Saluddin was guilty of wasting perhaps the greatest chance of the whole match by miskicking with the goal right in front of him.

As time went on, Kelantan failed to fully replicate their first half performance into the second, which allowed KL to enjoy a bulk of the attacks, and that proved to be their undoing.

A Parting Gift From Junior?

Junior Aparecido was subject to scrutiny when there were murmurs of him being released following lackluster displays bought him down the pecking order and also the fact that Dutch hitman Sylvano Comvalius is heavily linked to KL. Nevertheless, he was bought on to shore up the midfield with around 10 minutes to go.

Nothing is certain yet about his future. But if he were to leave, he left one great parting gift. Getting in position by the near post to guide his header in from another fellow substitute, Ashri Chuchu’s cross. A great header that could well be Junior’s last contribution.

Bouslimi’s Forgetful Debut

Tunisian defender Alaeddine Bouslimi was bought in to partner Cassio. There were memorable debuts and terrible ones. Sadly for Bouslimi, this one falls into the latter category. Letting in five goals was not the way you want to give a good first impression. He was part of the defence that didn’t get close enough to Guilherme (His first goal) and Junior when they scored along with KL’s smart passes making a fool out of them too that lead to the other goals. He might as well be lucky not to be shown a yellow card one minute after the match began when he made a crunching challenge.

The result can lower his confidence about giving his all in an unfamiliar league. He needs to form a better understanding with Cassio organizing the backline better to prevent something like this from happening again.

National Team Officials Need To Look Closely At Two Kelantan players

Tan Cheng Hoe, Ong Kim Swee, I suggest you two come down to Kota Bharu and perhaps take and some of the young players Kelantan has to offer. The way they attack looked very promising, especially the two Niks: 21-year old Nik Azli and 19-year old Nik Akif Syahiran. Nik Akif was tasked as the playmaker and did well to make some key passes along with the swift movements of Nik Azli going into attack down the left flank or through the center.

Granted, a call-up to the national senior team is way too soon, but they might as well put out a good shout for Ong Kim Swee’s U-23 squad and prove their worth on that level first. Their development is something that needs to be monitored with great intent for the future of Malaysian football.