Red Giants Beat the Turtle, Bringing 2 Goals Advantage to Gong Badak

Selangor FC displayed a fierce performance after successfully defeating the challenger, Terengganu FC 3-1 in the first Semi-Final match of TM Malaysia Cup 2022 at the MBPJ Stadium, Kelana Jaya, last night.

Playing in front of more than 14 thousand spectators, both teams started fiercely from the start of the game by displaying high-tempo action with reciprocal attacks against each other's defenses.

The visiting team, however, first found the touch of the net when their captain, Tchetche Kipre released a free kick that failed to be saved by the Selangor goalkeeper, Muhammad Khairulazhan Khalid in the 19th minute.

Terengganu almost doubled their lead as a result of Faisal Halim's move that successfully entered the Selangor penalty area, but his teammate Kpah Sherman failed to provide the finishing. Khairulazhan also performed brilliantly by successfully denying an attempt in the penalty box by Manuel Ott.

Mukhairi Ajmal who was tasked to take the corner kick cleverly found Richmond Ankrah who jumped high before unleashing a header straight into the Terengganu net to equalize the current scoreline in the 37th minute.

The goal clearly fueled the red-yellow spirit as Herlison Caion was quick to head home after another Mukhairi Ajmal corner kick to put the Red Giants in front in the first half.

Mukhairi Ajmal set a personal record when he contributed the assist for the third goal also through a corner kick when his cross found Shahrul Nazeem who scored his first goal of the Malaysia Cup campaign in the 54th minute to make it 3-1.

Sang Penyu's squad tried to narrow the position by forcing the Red Giants towards the end of the match but Kpah Sherman's effort only stopped at the goal post. The scoreline remained 3-1 until the final whistle and this victory saw Selangor bring two goals for the second Semi-Final away from home this November 21.

When interviewed, Selangor FC Head Coach, Tan Cheng Hoe described the two goals is still not a guarantee and urged the players to keep focus on the second action later.

"This two-goal advantage is still not a guarantee and we cannot be comfortable because we still have one more away game. So, I hope the players stay focused because playing at Gong Badak is not an easy thing", he said.

Here are some interesting facts to note from last night's game:

'Hatrick' Assists from Mukhairi Ajmal
Midfielder, Mukhairi Ajmal managed to make three assists to help teammates, Richmond Ankrah, Herlison Caion and Shahrul Nazeem score goals. More interestingly, all of these assists were through corner kicks.

Ankrah's First Goal for the Club & 'Afro's First Goal for the Malaysia Cup
These two defenders set personal record with Ankrah scoring his first goal for the club and Sharul Nazeem scoring his first in the Malaysia Cup campaign.

Caion's 5th goal in 5 Malaysia Cup matches
A goal from Brazilian-born import Herlison Caion completed his five goals from five matches for the Malaysia Cup campaign so far, 23 goals in total for the season.

Record Number of 14,554 Complete MBPJ
The highest total attendance for a match involving Selangor FC for the 2022 season.

Demi Kebanggaan!