BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Selangor edged Perak 3-2 on aggregate in front of their own fans on Sunday, to set up a mouth-watering Malaysia Cup semi-final tie against JDT.
SELANGOR
Khairul Azhan - 7/10
Buoyed by his recent Malaysia call-up, the custodian showed an improved performance, denying at least two of Perak's golden chances. He was only beaten by another of Brendan Gan's pinpoint shot.
Syahmi Safari - 6/10
He still lacked sharpness when he joined in the attack in the first half, but did a decent job defending his flank.
Taylor Regan - 7/10
The centreback played a massive role in the win, keeping Ronaldo, Careca, Shahrel Fikri and Brendan Gan quiet for much of the night, allowing the home team to concentrate on finding the goals.
Michal Nguyen - 7/10
A good night for the centre back, who combined well with Regan to minimise the threat of the visitors' forwards
Fandi Othman - 8/10
The left back turned in a good performance, marking J. Partiban out of the game and limiting the winger's involvement. His awareness allowed him to dispossess the winger and set up their third goal of the night.
K. Sarkunan - 7/10
This time Selangor boss B. Satiananthan took no chances, fielding the midfielder from the start despite having just recovered from a fever, and the midfielder returned his trust.
Halim Saari - 7/10
An improved performance by the midfielder, who combined well with Sarkunan to control the middle of the park, especially in the first half.
Endrick dos Santos - 8/10
The Brazilian produced an industrious performance, perhaps the hardest working he has been this season. On top of getting involved in one of their goals and assisting another, he played his legs off in the final minutes to ensure the ball stayed out of Perak's possession.
Khyril Muhymeen - 8/10 (Man of the Match)
Goal chose the right time to interview him earlier this week, with the flanker turning out to be the most clinical and lethal man on the pitch, through his two goals and one assist in this match. He was booked for a needless challenge on Leandro that frankly could have been a red, requiring him to be taken off while he was still very much in the game, in order to protect him.
Sports Regime
Khyril Muhymeen. Photo from Sports Regime
Syazwan Zainon - 7/10
The winger returned to scoring form, netting the Red Giants' first goal of the night, before terrorising the Perak defence. Was booked for dissent in the second half.
Ifedayo Olusegun - 6/10
While his teammates had a good night to produce the win, it must be said that the Nigerian forward disappointed somewhat, despite his assist that led to their second goal. In the second half, he had at least two chances to kill the game, but failed to put the chances away.
Substitutions:
Faiz Nasir, Latiff Suhaimi, Ashmawi Yakin - NA
Second half changes who helped Selangor defend their precarious lead.
PERAK
Hafizul Hakim - 5/10
Another off night for the Malaysia custodian resulted in a disappointing night. He failed to defend his goalmouth confidently, and it was his hesitance that led to the home team's third goal, while another blunder could have allowed them to score their fourth late in the game.
Amirul Azhan - 5/10
A difficult night for the right back, who was constantly troubled by Syazwan.
Hussein El Dor - 5/10
Returning to action following his suspension in the first leg, the Lebanese centre back underwhelmed, unable to limit the threat of the home team's attackers.
Shahrul Saad - 6/10
The centre back made several good tackles early in the game, but could not sustain it on a night the other defenders underperformed.
Nazirul Naim - 5/10
The left back did well enough to keep out Ifedayo, but the man he could not mark properly, Muhymeen, ended up dismantling them.
Leandro dos Santos - 5/10
Regardless of which side one falls in the debate concerning the midfielder's now-famous provocative style of play, many would perhaps agree that tonight his tactics backfired. After going behind, the Brazilian's numerous remonstrations with the referee seemed more like the action of a petulant child than that of an experienced professional footballer. All he succeeded was to delay the game further, at a time when Perak needed to get on with it.
Brendan Gan - 7/10
Still a decent game for the midfielder who had a better second half than first, and came away with a late goal that allowed them some hope of a comeback.
Partiban Janasekaran - 6/10
The winger worked hard the whole match, but he was marked very closely on the right flank and was unable to do more damage. But an error by him led to the home team's third goal.
Careca - 5/10
The forward's contribution to his team was minimal, and had to be substituted off just before the hour mark.
Shahrel Fikri - 6/10
The striker had a good game, a number of his attempts denied by an equally impressive Khairulazhan. He was however booked in the second half for a desperate attempt to score with his hand.
Ronaldo - 5/10
A quiet night for the forward, who offered little threat to the Selangor defence.
Substitutions:
Firdaus Saiyadi, Rafiuddin Roddin - NA
Second half changes who could not help Perak avoid losing.
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