BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Johor Darul Ta'zim's effectiveness in the second half of their away encounter to Selangor on Friday kept the week five Malaysia Super League match from becoming a classic league meeting.
SELANGOR
Khairulazhan Khalid - 5/10
The custodian put in another questionable shift; two of his spilled save attempts led to JDT goals.
Syahmi Safari - 4/10
The Malaysia right back's performance continues to drop under head coach B. Satiananthan, and having to take on the effective JDT forwards only amplified this. A mistake in trapping the ball led to JDT's first goal, while his poor marking led to the visitors' third of the night.
Taylor Regan - 6/10
The Australian centre back returned, perhaps not quite fully recovered, from his injury, and helped plug the porous Selangor defence somewhat.
Michal Nguyen - 5/10
The Vietnamese centre back drew more questions from fans and critics with his performance on Friday, failing to complement Regan in their danger area, and letting the JDT forwards have too much freedom.
Nurridzuan Abu Hassan - 6/10
The left back put in a sufficient shift, when compared with that of the other Selangor defenders'.
Halim Saari - 5/10
The midfielder lost ground to the superior JDT midfield, and could not help Selangor push up with more intent.
Endrick Dos Santos - 6/10
The Brazilian midfielder still has a lot to prove, but his screamer in the first half should buy him more time.
Sandro dos Santos - 6/10
It was not a bad debut for the attacking midfielder, who struck the goalpost with his early freekick. But his contributions in open play, especially his combination with Rufino Segovia, needs to be worked on in order to achieve its full potential.
Syazwan Zainon - 5/10
The winger could not combine with Rufino as well as he did in their 1-1 draw against Pahang last weekend.
Rufino Segovia - 7/10
The star striker proved why he has been handed the captain's armband in their past few matches; leading from the front and working hard even when the going got tough. His powerful header gave his side a fighting chance just before the first half ended, and took his individual tally this season to three.
Faiz Nasir - 6/10
Another frustrating night for the attacker, whose dribbles in the danger area often failed to be anticipated well by his teammates. He however came away with one assist, his cross from the left met by Rufino's powerful header.
JOHOR DARUL TA'ZIM
Farizal Marlias - 6 /10
The Malaysia goalkeeper was beaten twice in the match, and could have been beaten by more if the numerous Selangor attempts that struck the frame had been more accurate.
Azrif Nasrulhaq - 6/10
The former Selangor defender was to a certain extent the weakest link in the JDT defence, and his former team took advantage of this, concentrating their attacks on the right back's flank.
Kiko Insa - 6/10
The centre back was given his first start and appearance of the season, but slightly disappointed. The hosts were allowed to look more dangerous in attack than they actually were, thanks to some unconvincing JDT defending in the final third.
Maurício dos Santos - 6/10
The centre back could not help the visitors race to a commanding lead despite their two early goals, and only had more breathing room when their midfielders switched to an effective high-pressing in the second half.
La'Vere Corbin-Ong - 7/10
The left back did enough to keep Selangor attackers away from his flank.
Afiq Fazail - 7/10
The midfielder was part of an effective engine room that kept their opposition counterparts out of the game for much of the second half.
Leandro Velázquez - 8/10
The attacking midfielder came away with two goals, but equally important was his contribution in spearheading their engine room's successful effort of pressing Selangor and pinning them in their own half for much of the second half. The hosts valiantly slashed the two-goal deficit to one twice in the first half, and the Tigers saw the importance of keeping the ball out of the Red Giants' possession and away from their own half, and Leandro effectively made sure of this.
Hariss Harun - 7/10
The skipper was part of an effective midfield that kept their opposition counterparts out of the game for much of the second half.
Safawi Rasid - 6/10
The young forward had a quiet night, unable to make as big an impact as he did last weekend, in their 2-1 win against Melaka United.
Diogo Luís Santo - 9/10 (Man of the Match)
Sports Regime
Diogo Luís Santo. Photo by Sports Regime.
The forward was a delight to watch and was the best player of the match, helping the visitors put constant pressure on the hosts on and off the ball. In the end, the Brazilian netted one goal and provided two assists.
Gonzalo Cabrera - 7/10
The forward was not the most outstanding man of his team in the match, but was still good enough to come away with a goal.
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