Regan: Friendly wins provided right impetus for Selangor

Selangor's Taylor Francis George Regan (right) fight for the ball against Bangkok United's Thossawat Lim Wanasathian (left) and Kasidit Sieghart (2nd left) during their Asia Challenge 2020 in Shah Alam Stadium on Sunday. JANUARY 19, 2020. - MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star.

PETALING JAYA: It is high fives all around for buoyant Selangor as they prepare for the visit of Petaling Jaya City at the UiTM Stadium today.

In the run-up to the Super League restart, the Red Giants have won all their five warm-up friendlies and scored a massive 14 goals and conceded only two, which will definitely leave them in high spirits against the Phoenix.

They were razor-sharp in their wins over Penang (4-1), UKM (3-0), Negri Sembilan (3-0), Terengganu (2-0) and Kuala Lumpur (2-1).

However, Selangor captain Taylor Regan (pic) insists that friendlies are no indication of their form but the wins will certainly provide the right impetus.

“Momentum is important, of course. We also know that friendly games mean nothing. Now it is all about winning and achieving our goals,” said the centreback.

“Defensively we have had some struggles. We are working on improving this aspect.

“We have improved no doubt, but again, it all comes down to what happens on match day. PJ City are a well-organised team and have lots of hard-working players.

“We have looked at the way they play and I believe we can win by playing to our strength.”

Regan, a former Adelaide United player, is also glad to have players like Rufino Segovia and Wan Zack Wan Haikal back from long-term injuries.

Both players have impressed in the friendlies, and they are expected to play a significant role for Selangor this season.

“Everyone knows the quality of Rufino and Zack. They are important players for us.

“They have worked hard to be ready and we are all excited to have them back.”

The team have also drafted several youngsters like Mukhairi Ajmal Mahadi and Harith Haiqal from the Selangor II squad and Regan is impressed with their progress in the first team.

“We have lots of good kids within the squad. I believe their future is really bright.

“You can see their attitudes have changed over the past eight weeks. They are now in the gym more, they are asking questions and working hard.

“People talk about Luqman (Hakim Shamsuddin, now playing for Belgian club KV Kortrijk), but from what I have seen, fans will be talking about some of the talented kids in the Selangor squad too.”

The team, coached by B. Sathianathan, will be banking on a victory in their first match since the M-League was stopped in March because of the Covid-19 outbreak, to improve their standings in the league.

They are currently seventh with five points and a victory today will boost their ambition of winning the league title.

PJ City did not have the best of starts after going down 2-0 to Terengganu on Aug 22. The defeat leaves PJ City tenth in the 12-team Super League table with four points after four matches.