It was an evenly matched contest which ended in a 3-3 draw thriller against KL City FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras last Friday in the opening match of the Super League 2022.

We look back at some important and positive things we could take away from the meeting between Selangor FC and KL City FC, where both teams ended up sharing a point.

1. A solid performance in attack from our two new import players from Brazil

Herlison Caion and Hyuri Henrique both managed to score their debut goals during the opening half of the match.

Hyuri opened his scoring account as Selangor FC's first scorer this season by heading in a free kick from another new Red Giants import player, Baha 'Abdelrahman in the 18th minute.

Caion, on the other hand, scored his first two goals in the 27th and 78th minute, both through powerful penalties past Mendoza, the KL City FC goalkeeper.

2. The courage of Selangor FC head coach, Michael Feichtenbeiner to make brave changes by including local young players to replace import players in the second half of the match was amazing

Michael Feichtenbeiner is known for his belief in the young players. This has been proven since the 2020 season where he has given the opportunity to Sharul Nazeem, Aliff Haiqal Lau, Danial Asri and Zikri Khalili to play under him while he was the acting head coach. Now, being back as the permanent head coach, he is once again doing it by including Syahir Bashah, Rahman Daud and Zahril Zabri replacing Hyuri Henrique, Baha ’Abdelrahman and Safuwan Baharudin in the second half.

The opportunity he gave them was used very well. In addition, this has encouraged the younger players that they have the chance to play as long as they show their abilities and not just as ‘benchwarmers’.

3. Debut Syahir Bashah

The introduction of Syahir immediately had an impact especially on the attacking front. He managed to break through the KL City FC defense with agility and good ball control. He was also a contributor to Selangor FC's third goal, as his shot hit the hand of KL City defender, Irfan Zakaria in the 76th minute and was awarded a penalty kick, which was  finished by Caion. Several players made their Super League debut for Selangor FC including Syahir, Caion, Hyuri, Baha ’, Yazan, Quentin and Rahman. 

4. Abdul Rahman Daud became the youngest player in the history of Selangor FC to play with the first team

Rahman, who has just signed a professional contract with Selangor FC this season, has shown his worth during the training session and gained the trust of head coach Michael Feichtenbeiner to play in this match. He replaced the Red Giants new import, Baha' Abdelrahman in the 80th minute. Despite playing for only 14 minutes, he took advantage of the time with some dangerous moves in the opponent's fort.

His debut age is 17 years, 10 months and 22 days making him the youngest player in the history of Selangor FC, followed by Zikri Khalili (18 years, 3 months & 15 days) Zameer Zainun (18 years, 4 months and 5 days) and Syahmi Safari (18 years, 11 months and 16 days) after the Semi-Pro era began in 1989. 

5. Safuwan Baharudin led the team brilliantly despite having to leave due to injury at the end of the match

Safuwan was given the responsibility of captaining the team in this match replacing Brendan Gan who made it back to the squad on the bench. He has done brilliantly especially in guiding the young players to be in the right position. He is respected and his instructions were well received by his teammates, not just that he also performed very well throughout the match.

Selangor FC expects to build on from this match and perform well so we can emerge victorious in the next match. Keep fighting the Red Giants!

Demi Kebanggaan!