PETALING JAYA: Brazilian Clayton Silva achieved a striker’s dream by scoring four ‘perfect’ goals as Perak annihilated Kelantan 7-0 in their Super League game at the Manjung Stadium on Sunday.
The mercurial player scored with his left and right foot, a header and a stunning volley to increase his league goal tally to eight goals.
Instead of basking in the glory, the 29-year-old Silva was modest.
“I may have scored four but it was a team effort,” said Silva, who once played for Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv.
“I know how important this win is for the team, staff and fans. We want to maintain this momentum and complete the rest of the matches with some good results.
“It feels good to show this side of Perak to the fans.”
Silva’s first goal came in the eighth minute when he capitalised on a defensive mistake by Kelantan winger Fazrul Amir Md Zaman. Fazrul who made a rash back pass towards his goalkeeper Alfaiz Zul’Amin but the Brazilian stepped in to score a left-footed goal.
His second in the 56th minute was a simple right-footed finish when he buried a pass from winger Farris Izdiham Awang Kechik. The third was also provided by Farris, but this time Silva curled in a beautiful volley from outside the box in the 62nd minute.
Silva headed the last when he finished off a cross from Nur Azfar Fikri in the 92nd minute.
The other three goals were scored by Argentinian midfielder Luciano Guaycochea (14th), Kyrgyzstan international midfielder Adilet Kanybekov (23rd) and an own goal from Kelantan centreback Hafizal Alias Awang (69th).Perak coach Yusri Che Lah was delighted with the win.
“We didn’t concede too. The high number of goals has also improved our goal difference,” said Yusri.
“We showed hunger to win against Kelantan but our opponents in the upcoming game will be stronger.”
Yusri said he empathized with Kelantan who had been mired with financial issues, with sources claiming that the players and coaches had not been paid for four months.
“I hope Kelantan players will not give up,” he said.
