KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Aug – Spaniard hitman Rufino Segovia hit a brace while Sean Selvaraj scored one in Selangor’s 3-0 win over Premier League outfit Negri Sembilan in a friendly match played at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi on Wednesday.
If the win was heartwarming for Selangor head coach, B. Sathianathan, the good news is the return of Nigerian striker, Ifedayo Olusegun.
Ifedayo returned last week from Lagos and is currently under quarantine in a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.
With a tight schedule for the league which resumes on Aug 26, Sathianathan fielded a team from his squad of 25, knowing that he will not be able to count on his first team.
”With the current situation, there is no such thing as first team or reserves. Every member of the squad will have a role to play and deliver when called upon as we are allowed to make five changes during a match.
”’It will be very taxing on the team right from the start when we play PJ City in the opening match not forgetting the injuries that can happen,” said Sathianathan (pic left).
The Red Giants will face Petaling Jaya City FC at their new ‘home venue’ which is the UiTM FC Stadium in Shah Alam on Aug 27. Selangor’s famed home venue – Stadium Shah Alam – is currently undergoing massive renovations and upgrading and is expected to be ready only in 2022.”It was heartening to see a commendable effort from those who played against Negri (Sembilan). I gave the players a chance to go and get a feel of what to expect when the league resumes,” added Sathianathan.
Sathianathan is also keeping a close tab on Ifedayo’s progress in training which has been given to him and the Nigerian has not let him down. ”He (Ifedayo) is very professional and has been diligently following our training schedule.”
After PJ City, the Red Giants face Sabah on Sept 1 followed by a match against Melaka United at home on Sept 5.
The cruncher is against six-time Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) away on Sept 9.
Selangor’s other matches are against UiTM and Police on Sept 14 and 19 respectively.
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