Kelantan down Selangor for first silverware

SHAH ALAM: Kelantan kicked off the new Malaysian Super League (MSL) season with a bang when they defeated Selangor 2-0 in a Charity Shield match that was marred by crowd trouble at the Shah Alam Stadium last night.

It was a great start for the east coast side’s new coach M. Karathu, who has only been on the job for two days.

This is the Red Warriors’ first ever Charity Shield title. The match also counted as a Super League fixture.

National striker Norsharul Idlan Talaha put Kelantan ahead from the penalty spot in the seventh minute before skipper Mohd Badhri Radzi sealed all the three points with a curling free-kick in the 84th minute.

But the game, played in front of 35,000 fans, was marred by incidents of unruly fans pelting objects onto the pitch, forcing referee Mohd Yusof Mat Karim to stop play for 10 minutes in the 62nd minute.

Selangor have now failed to get the better of Kelantan in the last five attempts. The Red Giants drew three times and lost once to Kelantan last season.

Kelantan and Selangor fielded three new signings each in their starting line-ups. Kelantan had Solihin Kanasian, Mohd Nurul Azwan Roya and Danial Fadzley on the pitch while Selangor’s new faces were goalkeeper Mohd Iqbal Suhaimi, centreback Yosri Dermaraju and striker Mohd Fadzli Saari.

But it was the Kelantan trio who shone, thrilling their fans with their attacking flair and forcing Selangor to back pedal in the opening stages.

It was no surprise then when Kelantan won a penalty when Mohd Nurul was brought down inside the box by defender Razman Roslan in the seventh minute. And Norsharul was clinical with the spot kick.

The Selangor engine room, manned by Mohd Amri Yahyah and Safiq Rahim, failed to ignite and was often frustrated by the more organised Kelantan defence, led by Mohd Farisham Ismail and Mohd Rizal Fahmi.

Selangor striker Safee Sali, who is being sought after by clubs in Indonesia, had a quiet half. His only notable attempt at goal came off the woodwork in the 32nd minute.

The Selangor backline looked shaky without its two regular centrebacks – Mohd Nasriq Baharom and Khairul Annuar Baharum, who are nursing injuries.

Selangor tried to change things around after the break by bringing in Mohd Fitri Shazwan for Safiq Rahim but it failed to work.

Mohd Badhri, who took over the captain’s armband from Indra Putra Mahayuddin, who has joined T-Team, led by example when he curled in a free-kick past Mohd Iqbal in the 84th minute.