Selangor win to keep pressure on JDT

Selangor's Paulo Rangel (left) celebrates his 2nd goal against Sarawak with Andik Vermansyah during the Super League at Shah Alam stadium. - M. Azhar Arif/The Star

PETALING JAYA: The battle for the Super League title will go down to the wire.

Last night, Selangor kept their title chase alive by whipping Sarawak 3-0 in their penultimate fixture at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Brazilian striker Paulo Rangel returned with a bang after serving out a two-match ban, scoring a brace and making an assist in the win. 

Rangel scored in the 42nd and 60th minutes while former Harimau Muda A striker Ahmad Hazwan Bakri added the other goal in the 64th minute.

The Red Giants are now on 40 points, just one point behind leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).

In the final round of matches on Wednesday, JDT travel to Sarawak while Selangor, who have failed to win a silverware for the last three seasons, face relegated PKNS FC. 

Selangor struggled for most of the opening half last night before Rangel opened account with a brilliant first-timer off a corner kick in the 42nd minute.

On the hour mark, Rangel latched onto Indonesian Andik Vermansyah’s pass to increase Selangor’s lead. Four minutes later, Ahmad Hazwan put the match out of the Crocs’ reach by adding a third goal.

Sarawak, who were playing without any foreign signings, did well to threaten Selangor through nippy wingers S. Chanturu and Ashri Chu Chu. The homesters, however, were let down by poor finishing.

In Singapore, relegation-threatened Perak kept their slim hopes of surviving in the league with a 2-0 win over defending champions Lions XII at the Jalan Besar Stadium. 

Abdulafees Abdulsalam (17th) and Milan Purovic (65th) scored for the Seladang.

Bottom-placed PKNS FC, who will be playing in the Premier League next season, suffered their 12th defeat of the season when they went down 2-1 to Pahang at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan.