After the demoralising defeat at Terengganu last Saturday, MyTeam looked to make amends and targeted a third win at their home ground against high flying Selangor who starts this game second in the Super League. However, the football gods were not smiling on the People’s Team and they lost the match with two goal hero and birthday boy, Safee Sali, showing the MyTeam boys a lesson on cool finishing in the Klang Valley derby. The result was somewhat deceitful since MyTeam could have taken at least a point if not all three but for the lack of composure in front of goal.

MyTeam began with the trusted choice of keeper Syed Adney in goal and a back four that contained Captain Kaironnisan and Mijo Dadic in the middle with Hasmizan Kamaroddin, who was given his first start in the season, and Irwan Fadzli out wide. Playmaker Miljan Radovic partnered Juzaili Samion who acted as the defensive anchor with new recruit Sasa Branezac joining regular forward Zamri Chin in attack. Azammudin Akil was deployed on the right with Nazrin Nawi returning to the starting lineup on the left. There was no place for Norshahrul Idlan Talaha and Azrul Azmi, both who were first choice players in Kuala Terengganu, who had to be content with a place on the bench.

Selangor kicked off the game on a badly cut-up pitch that resembled a rugby field that could be a deciding factor in the way the game plays out. MyTeam preferred to play their football on the ground despite the conditions which made it difficult for them in the opening minutes. The first attack came from the Red Giants when as early as the 4th minute Amirul Hadi Zainal burst through the midfield after being put through by Indra Putra Mahayudin, only for Mijo to snuff the danger out and concede a throw in. The throw in was a long one into the box but Adney was alert to it.

MyTeam’s first foray into the Selangor half was in the 6th minute with Juzaili picking up the ball, passing it to Miljan who instantly releases Azammuddin on the right. The Pahang born beat one defender but was then brought down by the towering Evans Chisulo just outside the box. Miljan lined up to take the free kick but he hit the wall and the Selangor defence managed clear the ball to safety.

The first 10-15 minutes was a cagey affair as both teams tried to get a foot into the game with the midfield area particularly crowded. Slowly Selangor dictated the pace of the game with the superior experience of Indra Putra and Shukor Adan spraying passes from deep to try to pry open MyTeam’s backline.

In the 14th minute, MyTeam had one of their best chances to score when Indra Putra, under pressure from Juzaili, hit back pass to his keeper, Megat Amir who’s clearance fell straight to Sasa Branezac. The Croatian then tried to lob from 30 meters out and it looked like dipping in with the keeper stranded. However, Lady Luck smiled kindly for the treble winners in 2005, the ball instead hit the cross bar and bounced in front of goal with the speedy Zamri rushing in to tap it into an empty net, only for Evans, who marshaled Selangor’s defence superbly throughout the game, to make a desperate lunge reaching the ball first, denying Zamri.

The game was stopped for 2 minutes when a clash of heads brought the first injury scare of the game. Zamri rose to challenge for the ball with the giant Evans who came out worst from it. The Selangor last man had to be stretchered off for his injury to be sewn at the sidelines. It may have rattled him a bit and affected his concentration temporarily because no sooner had he return, the Zambian was caught out of position with a delightful one-two pass between MyTeam playmaker Miljan and Zamri, resulted in the latter opening up the Selangor defence. Gunalan Padathan, Selangor’s left back did well to back track and cut out the danger.

The first change in the game came early as in the 25th minute when Selangor replaced No.19 Surendren Davagman who seems to be suffering a hamstring injury with the experienced Abd Ghani Abd Rahman wearing No 16 shirt. He took his place in the heart of defence with Evans. He had to settle in quickly due to the marauding runs of Zamri who seemed to be like a rash that refused to go away, to the opponents defence. In fact the first booking of the night, in the 28th minute was a result of Amirul Hadi trying to stop Zamri in full flight from using his pace to exploit the less than speedy Selangor back four. It was to be the first of many for both sides in this match, especially with the unhelpful conditions, and for the fact that both sides wanted to win. MyTeam needed to lift itself out of the bottom half of the table and maintain its recent home record of two successive victories while the Red Giants were keen to put a hold against the chasing pack eager for their second spot in the top division.

Mid-way through the first half, the mostly Red/Yellow clad fans at the PJ stadium were treated to a pulsating encounter with both teams upping the tempo to try and get the all important opening goal. In the 33rd minute MyTeam wasted another glorious chance when Miljan, after some neat passing play in midfield with Juzaili, releases a long pass into the path of Zamri, who yet again used his pace to beat the hapless fullback Gunalan. Once more the pitch, having turned soggy due to the drizzle a couple of hours before kick-off, and Lady Luck turned savior for Selangor, resulting in Zamri fluffing his shot, going straight to the keeper. There was some drama though, with the ball making an awkward bounce before reaching Megat and the Selangor custodian fumbled his save. It spilled to the path of the onrushing Azammuddin but Abd Ghani just managed to clear the ball of the line.

By the end of the half, the aggression level of both team have risen tremendously, reflected in the numerous fouls each team commits to try and get something before the half ends. In the 41st minute, Juzaili enters the referee’s book as the first MyTeam to be cautioned for a stray elbow that hit the ribs of Selangor’s rightback Razman Roslan. The ensuing freekick is high to the far post but the ever reliable Mijo cuts it out to safety.

MyTeam skipper Khaironnisam was also booked just on the stroke of halftime for a late tackle on Frank Seator but he made amends for his mistake by expertly blocking out the freekick resulting from the foul, which would have fallen to Safee Sali who was lurking with intent at the far post. The game went into recess with the score tied 0-0.

The second half started with Selangor coming out of the dressing room late, maybe a ploy by Dollah Salleh the Selangor coach in psychological up-manship. Nevertheless, it seemed to work with the Red Giants bursting out of the blocks with the first few waves of attacks..

Amirulhadi and Frank Seator twice combined well to break down The People’s Team’s defence in the 47th and 49th minute, but twice Mijo put a stop to the danger. The all-action last man was putting in another determined performance to try and rally his troops for victory.

MyTeam’s mental determination is put to the test time and again and the second caution received did not come as a surprise. Azammudin was demed to be holding back Indra Putra and was duly punished by the referee for his troubles in the 50th minute. The freekick was a high ball into the danger area, causing a goalmouth scramble but yet again there was Mijo to sweep the threat away.

The breakthrough Selangor were looking for finally came from the creative brains of Indra Putra who received the ball on the left and beat two onrushing defenders, to centre at the byline. The cross was a little high for Safee who was lurking just outside the box but he still managed to trap the ball and unleash a beautiful curler to the top right hand corner of the MyTeam goal, in the 72nd minute. The Red/Yellow faithful in the stadium erupted with glee, cheerfully banging their drums and loudly celebrating with delirium. MyTeam’s backline were slow to close Safee down and that gave him just enough time to pick his spot for a memorable goal.

Barely had the homesters recovered from Selangor’s opener, the most successful team in Malaysian football scored again in the 78th minute. A long clearance by Evans fell to Safee who had Mijo coming in to make a tackle. The coolness of the Selangor marksman was a sight to behold; he pulled the ball back to his left foot beating the tall Croat and had time to take a step before unleashing a low grounder to the far post which beat Adney for Selangor’s second goal. The icing on the cake indeed for him, to knock the stuffing out of MyTeam, who were temporarily at lost for words.

Selangor ended the game playing keep ball, rarely going forward to kill off the game, and this sparked some new found impetus to MyTeam who fought with renewed vigor to obtain something out of the game in the closing minutes. Substitute Arun Kumar who came on for Zamri should have reduced the deficit in the 84th minute. Nazrin received a superb cross-field pass from Miljan and cut it back in front of the face of the Selangor goal only for Arun to be a fraction too late in getting contact with the ball.

The last few minutes of the game saw Selangor passing the ball amongst their defenders and not take any risk to ensure they take all three points across town to Shah Alam. The Red Giants displayed a disciplined game knowing that MyTeam cannot be underestimated even during the last moments of the match. In the end both teams had their chances with Selangor taking the spoils due to their calmness in finish their chances.