Penang FA incurred yet another defeat as Mauro Olivi’s early free-kick strike earned the home side a 1-0 win at the MP Selayang Stadium earlier today.
Selangor made several changes to their starting eleven, with Saiful Riduwan coming in for Hafiz Kamal. Hazwan Bakri was also handed a starting spot, with Gopinathan being rested on the bench. Penang on the other hand, banked on a front three of Faiz Subri, S. Kumaahran and Osas Saha.
The front three looked dangerous from the get go, though strangely enough, Osas was pushed the flank, with Faiz occupying the center-forward role. Whilst they did well to create several openings in midfield, it was difficult for Faiz to make an impact on the final third, as he was being outmuscled by Shahrom Kalam and Rob Cornthwaite.
Selangor’s defensive strength allowed them to keep the score level until they eventually broke the deadlock on the 17th minute. Selangor were granted a free-kick outside the box and Olivi stepped up to execute it, in the absence of Hafiz Kamal. While everyone expected him to float a cross into the box, Olivi opted to try his luck with a direct attempt – and it definitely paid dividends by hitting the back of the net.
The 1-0 goal allowed Selangor to sit back and force Penang to bring the game towards them. To their credit, the Panthers worked extremely hard to create opportunities, but Saha was struggling to make an impact on the flanks, while Faiz was being largely nullified by the pairing of Cornthwaite and Shahrom.
After the break through, Penang opted to switch Osas to a more central role, allowing Faiz Subri to operate on the flanks. Kumaahran was pulled back into a deeper role, but with Saiful keeping a close eye, it was difficult for him to make an impact.
That being said, they did manage to carve out several key chances. Kumaahran’s shot on the 67th minute was tipped away by Khairul Azhan. Moments later, Faiz Subri found himself with the ball on the edge of the penalty box, but his cross was cleared away by Shahrom Kalam.
Selangor almost made it 2-0 minutes later as a solo run by Patrick Ronaldinho allowed him to bypass three Penang players, but just before he could find space to unleash a shot, Darwira tracked back in time to intercept and clear the ball.
Zainal Abidin then brought on Gopinathan and Adam Nor Azlin, with hopes of potentially scoring a second goal to close the tie. And it almost paid dividends on the 83rd minute as a fantastic counter-attack allowed Andik Vermansyah to cross from the left edge of the box. Adam Nor Azlan, who was unmarked inside the box, could only fire wide.
But as the game progressed, the tempo visibly slowed down and Zainal’s men were able to seal valuable three points. As for Penang, things got a lot more complicated. Pahang’s win over Kelantan means that Penang have officially been pushed into the relegation zone.
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