The first round of matches of the 2013 MSL season kicked off this week with four matches being played on Tuesday and another two on Wednesday. The surprise of the day was from Pahang where they stunned big-spenders Darul Takzim FC, 3-2 at home. It was an entertaining game with play being dictated at a high tempo. Former Getafe and Mallorca forward Dani Guiza failed to score but created two goals for fellow new boys, Safiq Rahim and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha for a 2-0 halftime lead. Pahang stormed back in the second half with a brace from Mohd Fauzi Roslan and the winning goal was scored by R.Surendran.
Selangor started their season with a 1-0 win over Negeri Sembilan. The solitary goal was scored by the ex-N9 player, S.Kunalan. It was an unimpressive display by the Red Giants though, with N9’s occasional threats coming from their new import, Emmanuel De Porras. Selangor’s Francis Forkey Doe had a relatively low-key debut but his tricky movement with the ball led to the winning goal.
Perak beat T-Team 1-0 while Felda United played out a 1-1 draw with Terengganu in Kuala Terengganu in an evening game. Felda’s new signing, Mohammad Ghaddar scored the first goal of the MSL season before Ismail Faruqi equalised for the Turtles.
Defending champions, Kelantan started their campaign with a 2-1 win over Selangor PKNS at home with captain Piya and Zairul Fitree as the scorers. Newly-promoted and Charity Shield winners ATM lost 0-1 to Lions XII in Paroi, with Shahril Ishak getting the winning goal via a simple tap-in.
It has been a good start to the season, with a reasonable number of goals scored. Apart from that, Darul Takzim’s shock defeat to Pahang made the headlines all over the country plus it was being repeated on Astro Arena over and over again.
Players To Watch Out
1) Mohd Fauzi Roslan (PHG) - Scored two goals in his Super League debut. Possesses very good off-the- ball movements. An extremely good finisher. A candidate for a national call-up?
2) Emmanuel De Porras (NS) - Had a good debut. Has a very good movement with and without the ball. Well-built stature. A very good striker of the ball from distance.
3) Venice Elpi (ATM) - His assets are his darting runs on the left flank and a left-foot that is capable of delivering mouth-watering crosses. He was noticed during ATM’s Malaysia Cup campaign last season. Other than Bruno Martelotto and Marlon Alex James, Venice is also another player who can make a difference. King Raja, your solution for the left-flank?
MAJULAH BOLASEPAK UNTUK NEGARA
Written by Vinod Nair
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