BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Social league club Southern FC emerged as one of the two amateur sides to advance to the second round of the FA Cup, after they upset FAM Cup side Selangor United 2-1 in their round one match on Tuesday.
The Klang-based side had star striker Sharul Afif Shaharuddin to thank for, as the 24-year old struck twice in the second half to help his club produce a come-from-behind win.
Zulhilmi Zainal
Sharul Afif Shaharuddin
Head coach Gan Chee Lim paid tribute to Shahrul when met by the press after the match.
"Sharul is among the smallest players on our team, but his workrate is one of the highest. Although he doesn't have the physicality, he works very hard.
"And today his hard work has helped himself and the club. We're very proud of him," said Gan.
Speaking on the match itself, the trainer said that the won happened because his men were able to settle their nerves after conceding in the first half.
"This is our first time playing in a major tournament such as this," said Gan, "So we were a a bit unsettled and made mistakes.
"But we regained confidence when we found the equaliser, before scoring the winner and holding on for the win."
But despite the victory, Southern remain cautious regarding a possible future in the country's upper divisions.
"The win is a massive one for our club, but we have a long way to go before we can talk about (competing in) the third tier, the FAM Cup.
"There's a lot still that we need to learn. Honestly, we had to learn a lot of the formalities for this evening's match! And for that we are grateful for the guidance provided by officials present here. Hopefully we'll get more chances in the future," he revealed.
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