PETALING JAYA: Selangor shone on home ground with an assured performance that pleased head coach Kim Pan-gon.
The Red Giants stormed into the Malaysia Cup semi-finals after thrashing Negri Sembilan 5-1 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Saturday.
They built on their 1-0 advantage from the first leg in Paroi last week to seal their passage in convincing fashion.
South Korean Pan-gon was delighted.
“I’m very happy because what the players gave us was beautiful,” said Pan-gon.
“It felt different because this was at home, and we’ve been trying to create an atmosphere here to show our football culture, to show we are strong at home.
“It was the players’ passion that brought the club to the semi-finals.”
Red Giants captain Faisal Halim started the scoring frenzy for the hosts right at the first minute, and the goals kept coming from Alvin Fortes, Noaa Laine, Quentin Cheng and Chrigor Moraes.
Negri’s consolation goal came late in the game thanks to Jovan Motika converting a penalty after teammate A. Selvan was fouled inside the box by Selangor defender Ahmad Zikri Khalili.
Pan-gon added that he had an inkling that the squad would perform on point, but as coaches do, always sees room for improvement.
He said Selangor could have scored more than their five-goal haul.
“The players have shown their professionalism, they have been preparing well, and I had a feeling that it was going to be a good game.
“And I think it could’ve been 8-1. But this is the coach’s view; we always expect more.
“But we must remain humble. Games like these may have been easy to go into, but there have been matches where it goes down to the final minute,” he said.
Pan-gon was referring to the first leg match against Negri, where Moraes scored a penalty only in injury time to give them the 1-0 advantage.
Selangor will now take on Kuching City in the two-legged semi-finals, which is set to take place in April.
But first, both sides will meet in the Super League on Sunday, with the Cats making the trip to the Petaling Jaya Stadium.
