The Crocs will come home from Stadium MP Selayang without any points after they went down 4-2 to Selangor FA tonight.
Playing away, the Crocs showed they were keen to defeat the Red Giants by pushing forward through Ndumba Makeche, Gilmar Filho and Junior Aparecido.
In the seventh minute Junior Aparecido changed the score on the scoreboard by blasting home a direct pass from Gilmar Filho, to put the away team ahead.
The lead lasted for a good 17 minutes before Selangor pegged the Crocs back through R Gopinathan’s thunderous shot.
Sarawak was barely able to regroup when the Red Giants struck the back of the net again three minutes later, this time through a header by Partick Ronaldinho.
The Crocs retaliated through a counter attack but the effort by Junior went high above the target despite goalkeeper Norazlan Razali, already defeated.
Sarawak came close to equalize in the 34th minute, but Gilmar’s shot was pushed out by Norazlan for a fruitless corner for the Crocs
More attacks by the Crocs after that went sideways as Selangor dictated the midfield through Nazmi Faiz.
After the breather, the Crocs pushed harder for the equalizer with Hairol Mokhtar missing the target by a whisker.
Gilmar yet again came close to equalize for the Crocs, but his shot on goal was saved by Norazlan, while the rebound effort was also headed clear out of danger.
Things got worst for Sarawak in the 55th minute when Ronaldinho netted his second goal of the game, putting the score now at 3-1 for the home side.
With the Crocs losing grip at midfield, Selangor mounted more attacks to enhance their lead, and Mohd Azrif made sure his side had a comfortable lead in the 67th minute by scoring powerful shot, defeating a helpless Iqbal Suhaimi.
Sarawak however didn’t want to throw the towel just yet and their efforts were rewarded handsomely when referee Zamzaidi Katimin awarded the Crocs a penalty for a hand ball. Gilmar stepped up for the kick, and made no mistake to convert the penalty kick in the 76th minute.
Despite Gilmar’s goal however, the Crocs failed to further penetrate the Selangor defences until the final whistle.
FINAL SCORE: SELANGOR 4-2 SARAWAK
