Always a handful: Selangor’s Ayron Del Valle sees his attempt saved by the Kuala Lumpur goalkeeper during their Super League match on Tuesday. The Colombian, however, went on to score the second goal in the 2-0 win. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Coach Tan Cheng Hoe praised his young charges for stepping up to make sure Selangor earned full points in the Klang Valley derby against Kuala Lumpur in the Super League on Tuesday.
A goal in each half earned Selangor a 2-0 win at Kelana Jaya and thus denied KL’s new coach Nenad Bacina the satisfaction of winning his first match in charge.
Defender Harith Haikal Adam Afkar opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before Colombian forward Ayron Del Valle sealed the full points for Selangor in the 70th minute.
The Red Giants thus completed a double over the City Boys, who had lost their first meeting 1-3 at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras on March 31.
“The players who were picked to play showed good character even before the match. We were under pressure to win this match and the players have shown their determination even during training,’’ said Cheng Hoe.
“We saw that the defence and also the attack played hard tonight to get the full points.”
Cheng Hoe is also happy that his players have started to show the consistency that has been Selangor’s main problem since the beginning of the season and they also understood the tactical requirements required.
“We were definitely not consistent in previous matches but now the players have shown compatibility and have understood the tactical requirements of my coaching style because it takes time.
“The players have also made less individual mistakes but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“We know that one of the strengths of our team is our young players who have great potential for the future,” he said.
Selangor are in second spot with 43 points after 20 matches. Selangor have played one more match than Kedah, who are third with 40 points.
Super League leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim are on top with 54 points after 18 matches.
Terengganu were also all smiles after beating Kelantan 4-1 at the Sultan Muhd IV Stadium in Kota Baru.
At the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Star, Kedah defeated Pahang 2-0 with goals from Nigerian-Bahraini striker Ifedayo Omosuyi (fourth minute) and J. Partiban (42nd).
