Triple delight for Selangor in Sultan of Selangor’s Cup
SHAH ALAM: It was triple joy for Selangor in the Sultan of Selangor’s Cup after they swept the Under-16, veterans and Selangor Selection titles by defeating archrivals Singapore.
The Selangor Selection showed their prowess by taking down S-League Selection 4-3 in a penalty shootout after both were held to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes of play at the Shah Alam Stadium last night.
With the win, Selangor denied the visitors from taking the Cup for the third year in a row.
The Selangor picked up the trophy and a cheque of RM80,000 from Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Singapore led in the opening half through Shuhei Hoshino when he defeated three defenders in Selangor’s penalty box in the ninth minute to slam in the goal.
However, Selangor did not have to wait long for an equaliser which came in the 15th minute, thanks to Amri Yahyah’s free- kick from almost 40 metres, which found Rufino and slid past goalie Zaiful Nizam Abdullah’s reach.
But the star of the show was Selangor’s goalie Mohd Shahril Saa’ri, who denied Singapore’s Mohd Irfan Moh Najeed during the penalty shootout.
Meanwhile, the Selangor veterans also gave the fans a reason to celebrate when they edged the Singapore veterans 3-2 on penalties. They were tied at 1-1 after regulation time.
In the curtain raiser match, the Selangor veterans led through a penalty by Karim Pin which was awarded after Zainal Nordin was fouled in the box.
Selangor midfielders Soh Chin Aun and Ismail Ibrahim proved that they could still be a thorn in Singapore’s side, slipping the ball past Singapore’s defence on numerous occasions to find Karim, Zainal Abidin Hassan and Zainal.
However, Singapore’s goalie Shahri Ramin was able to deny them each time before Singapore’s
Steven Tan found Selangor’s net in the 27th minute to equalise.
Selangor veterans’ goalie Azlisham Ibrahim was the hero of the veteran’s match after denying
Steven from scoring a second time in the penalty shootout.
In the Under- 16 Selangor School’s Challenge which made its debut this year, the Selangor
youths won 2-0 courtesy of goals from skipper Muhammad Iqmal Hazim Muhamed Supian and Muhd Fariz Abd Zhafor in the 19th and 21st minute.