PLAYER RATINGS: JDT vs Selangor

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BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter

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JDT came away with the first leg Malaysia Cup semi-final win at home, but Selangor would no doubt feel just as satisfied ahead of the return fixture.

JOHOR DARUL TA'ZIM

Farizal Marlias - 6/10

The custodian was not tested too often, but still could not help the hosts avoid conceding the away goal.

Azrif Nasrulhaq - 7/10

The right back played well, ensuring that the visitors had little time with the ball down his flank.

Aidil Zafuan - 7/10

The centre back had a good game in overall, but still allowed himself to be beaten by forward Ifedayo Olesegun.

Mauricio dos Santos - 7/10

A decent game for the centre back, who ensured that the Selangor attackers could not penetrate into their final third area down the middle too often.

La'Vere Corbin-Ong - 6/10

The Malaysia left back at times looked troubled by the Selangor players on his flank, but nevertheless did enough to keep the threat out.

Hariss Harun - 8/10

The midfield general performed his duties well against an opponent who is used to controlling the middle of the park too, and came away with a brilliant long pass that assisted their opening goal.

Leandro Velázquez - 8/10 

Leandro (right). Photo by Sports Regime

The midfielder had a good outing, helping his side control the midfield in their home leg, and capped off the night with a wonderful long-range second half strike that gave them the slim lead going into the return fixture.

Afiq Fazail - 8/10

The home team's midfielders had a good night in the match, and Afiq was no exception, and his contributions included a smart assist that led to the winner, by Leandro.

Safawi Rasid - 6/10

The Malaysia star's dip in form continued, this time at club level. The forward was not able to play a bigger role in the match.

Gonzalo Cabrera - 7/10

A relatively quiet night for the forward, who perhaps could have done more to help the Tigers extend their lead.

Syafiq Ahmad - 8/10

The man in form for Malaysia worked hard to give them the opening goal, and then combined well with the other forwards to put pressure on the visitors' defence.

Substitutions:

Hazwan Bakri, Syamer Kutty, Akhyar Rashid  - NA

Late changes who could not help JDT extend their lead.

SELANGOR

Khairul Azhan - 6/10

The goalkeeper made a number of crucial saves, and was in overall a confident pair of hands, but could not avoid conceding two goals.

Syahmi Safari - 6/10

The right back had a good game considering who he was up against down his flank, but could not be sharper the few times he went up in attack.

Taylor Regan - 7/10

The centre back led his line convincingly, timing his early interceptions perfectly and marking opposing players closely, to help them keep the margin narrow ahead of the second leg.

Michal Nguyen - 7/10

The defender who had previously been the focus of the fans' criticism continued his improvement, this time helping minimise the threat of the JDT attackers out of their final third. 

Fandi Othman - 5/10

The left back had a nervous night playing against his home state team, his lapse in concentration leading to the opening goal by the hosts. Selangor boss B. Satiananthan took no chances and took him off just five minutes before halftime.

K. Sarkunan - 6/10

The midfielder's performance on Saturday was an improvement, considering the last time he was at Larkin he came away with a sending off. JDT won the midfield battle, but in helping the defence the tenacious was the definition of reliability.

Halim Saari - 6/10

The midfielder had a tough time against an opponent that was better in the midfield area than Selangor usually are, and he had to concentrate more on defending than he is used to.

Sandro da Silva - 7/10

Returning to the starting line-up following his injury, the Brazilian attacking midfielder was not able to stamp his authority on a night the visitors did not have much ground in the middle of the park. He however assisted their only goal of the night.

Khyril Muhymeen - 6/10

The flanker exchanged positions well with Syahmi on the right flank, but in overall the man currently in-form for Selangor had a tough night at Larkin.

Syazwan Zainon - 6/10

The left winger combined and exchanged passes with Ifedayo well, but he was not as threatening as he had been in previous matches. 

Ifedayo Olusegun - 7/10

There was slight improvement in the striker's game even without his goal, but he left many with the feeling that had he been just a little sharper in front of the goalmouth, he would have scored more than just the one.

Substitutions:

K. Prabakaran- 6/10

Coming on for the nervy Fandi, the left back was able to provide the visitors with more confidence in the back, although he was unlucky to have come away with a booking. 

Sean Selvaraj, A. Namathevan - NA

Late substitutions who did not change the course of the match greatly.

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