Selangor FC 2-1 Kuching City FC: Sosa answers an early goal, and a single-goal lead goes to Kuching

Selangor FC came from a goal down to beat Kuching City FC 2-1 at MBPJ Stadium, Petaling Jaya, on 23 October, in the first leg of the Malaysia FA Cup semi-final. Eduardo Sosa scored both of their goals.

How the game went

Saifullah put Kuching City FC ahead in the 9th minute. Sosa levelled in the 19th minute, and the second half brought the goal that decided the night: Sosa again, in the 58th minute. Makan Bola reported that the goal came from a pass by Chrigor and beat Haziq Nadzli, whom it called the national goalkeeper.

The visitors had already had Pedro booked in the 51st minute, and Okwuosa was booked in the 62nd minute. Kuching City FC sent on Lambert for Rasid in the 63rd minute. In the 63rd minute too, Selangor FC took Sosa off and brought on Tejan. Late on, Vitor Pernambuco came on for Boumous in the 83rd minute. No further goal came, and the score stayed as Sosa had left it.

Why it went Selangor’s way

The easy reading is that home ground did the work. It did not do it last time. In their previous cup match at MBPJ Stadium, on 11 October, Selangor FC scored twice and still lost 3-2 to Star City FC. They went through on the strength of the 4-1 away win in the first leg, a 6-4 aggregate by Selangor FC’s own account.

The other easy reading is that Kuching City FC defended badly. Their record says otherwise. Their earlier matches in this cup ended 0-0 and 5-1 against Kelantan Red Warrior FC, then 0-0 and 4-1 against Kelantan City FC. This was a defence that had given little away, and Sosa still beat it twice.

So why did Selangor FC win a match they started by losing? The evidence gives two reasons, in this order.

First, the answer came quickly. The lead Kuching City FC took in the 9th minute lasted only until the 19th minute. A side that had lost its previous home cup match, less than a fortnight earlier, did not let an early setback grow into something worse.

Second, Sosa’s finishing. He scored both goals, and the second, by Makan Bola’s account, came from Chrigor’s pass. Selangor FC head coach Kim Pan-gon had called the visitors “one of the best squads in the Malaysian League this season” before the match. Against that kind of opponent, one player turning two chances into goals was the difference.

StraitScore’s view: Selangor FC were better at the moments that counted, and that is a narrower thing than being better over the whole night. A 2-1 win is not a rout.

What it means for the second leg

The tie moves to Taha Ariffin Stadium, Kuching, on 8 November, kicking off at 7.45pm. With a one-goal lead from the 2-1 win, anything short of a Kuching City FC win there leaves Selangor FC ahead on aggregate.

That ground is where the margin will be tested. Kuching City FC, coached by Aidil Sharin Sahak according to MFL, won their home matches in this cup 5-1 and 4-1. The last time these sides met in a semi-final, in the Malaysia Cup, Selangor FC drew 1-1 at home on 5 April and lost 1-0 in Kuching on 18 April. It was Kuching City FC who reached that final.

There is a recent warning inside this competition too. MFL noted that Selangor FC went out of last season’s edition in the semi-finals, beaten by Sabah FC.

The verdict

Selangor FC won this first leg because they answered the 9th-minute goal in the 19th minute and because Sosa took his chances. That earned them a lead and nothing more: a single goal, carried to a ground where Kuching City FC beat them in April.