The Red Giants opened their TM Malaysia Cup 2020 competition campaign on the right foot after beating Melaka United 2-1 at the Hang Jebat Stadium, last night.

Melaka, which acted as a visiting team at their home ground, started the match fiercely and managed to create a threat to the Selangor fort several times through the combination of Uche Agba and Sony Norde in the early minutes.

Despite playing in the rainy conditions and the wet surface of the field, Selangor slowly adjusted the game pace in an effort to find the opening goal.

The deadlock broke when a counter-attack launched by Sandro Da Silva and Wan Zack was successfully converted by CIMB Super League top scorer, Ifedayo Olusegun who capitalized the chance and beat Melaka goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat to put Selangor ahead in the 21st minute.

Both teams continued to play attacking football to add goals but the 1-0 result remained for the first half.

Melaka started the second half with a mission to find an early equalizer but some of their attempts were denied by Selangor goalkeeper, Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid who played exceptionally last night.

After recording his name as a scorer, Ifedayo also set up a goal for Selangor after he made a cross before being converted with a perfect left-foot volley by Brazilian-born Sandro Da Silva in the 52nd minute to double the Red Giants' advantage.

Just four minutes later, Melaka United continued to push hard onto Selangor's defense and managed to reduce the deficit through Uche Agba's goal after he completed the cross from Sony Norde in the 56th minute of the match.

Selangor interim Head Coach, Michael Feichtenbeiner made five changes for the second half by including Aliff Haiqal, Syazwan Zainon, Ahmad Daniel, Rufino Segovia, and K. Sarkunan to replace Sean Selvaraj, Sandro Da Silva, Wan Zack Haikal, Ifedayo, and Halim Saari.

The match also will be always remembered by the Red Giants as three new faces; Ahmad Zikri, Ahmad Daniel, and Aliff Haiqal made their Piala Malaysia debuts in Selangor colors.

Towards the end of the game, Melaka did not give up in their efforts to find an equalizer but they were thwarted by the Selangor defense which continued to show good discipline in defending. The 2-1 result remained until the final whistle.

Speaking to the reporter after the match, Michael is delighted with the good performance of his boys, even though they had to play on a messy pitch.

“The first half we played under this condition, a very good football. We created a lot of chances, so we should lead in the first half, more than one goal. But anyway, we feel confident after the first goal but they did their best and in some situation, few good chances.”

On the other hand, Melaka United head coach, Zainal Abidin Hassan did not hide his disappointment after the defeat but give credits to his players.

“Honestly, I’m disappointed after we failed to go to the next round. But, our players never give up. From the first half, we created many chances, we played our best till the final whistle. Credits should be given to Melaka players,” said Zainal.

This victory also led Selangor to the quarterfinals and will face the Kedah who managed to beat Pahang 3-2 in their first-round match. The TM Malaysia Cup Quarterfinals are scheduled to take place on Friday, 13 November 2020.

Congratulations Selangor! Keep on fighting!