PETALING JAYA: Selangor may have picked up three red cards in 11 matches across all competitions, but coach Kim Pan-gon insists his side are strong enough to overcome any disciplinary setback.
The latest dismissal came in Sunday’s 1-0 Super League win over Star City at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, which extended the Red Giants’ winning run to six league matches.
Selangor remain second on 18 points, level with leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) but trailing on goal difference.
“Every coach and club dreams of being top of the table and challenging for the title. So far, our players are doing well despite getting red cards. How many red cards? I leave that for you to answer. Still, we got three points,” said Pan-gon.
“If there’s another red card, we will be strong because we are Selangor. We want to be strong, we want to go to the final (FA Cup), and we want to give our great Giants fans something to be proud of.”
Hugo Boumous scored the winner in the 16th minute, converting a pass from Brazilian forward Chrigor Moraes, who was later sent off in the 83rd minute for pushing Star City midfielder Pedro Santos.
Referee Mohd Faizal Talib consulted the video assistant referee (VAR) before dismissing Moraes, despite being close to the incident.
Selangor’s bench protested, believing both players deserved yellow cards, but the referee stood by his decision.
Safuwan Baharuddin and Kay Tejan were the other Selangor players sent off this season, against Sabah in the FA Cup on Sept 2 and Melaka in the Super League on Sept 6 respectively.
Pan-gon was pleased with Selangor’s start but warned his players to be more clinical in front of goal.
“We created many chances, played attacking football and scored first.
“But we have to improve our finishing. If we want to be a quality, competitive team, we must take our chances,” he said.
Pan-gon also dismissed concerns over squad depth, insisting the team did not depend on one or two individuals.
Selangor now turn their attention to the FA Cup semi-final second leg against Kuching City in Kuching on Nov 8.
On injured forward Faisal Halim, Pan-gon said the winger was making good progress but needed a few more weeks to recover.
