Brazilian striker Sandro da Silva Mendonca thunderous shot from outside the box rocked the bar in the last minute of three minutes of added time and with that went Selangor’s hopes of full points against Police in their Group D Malaysia Cup match at the Shah Alam Stadium on Sunday.
The 33-time Malaysia Cup champions could only share the spoils in their 1-1 draw against the Cops which left Melaka United heading the group with seven points after their 3-1 win over Felda United in Jengka on Saturday.
Selangor remained in the second spot with five points followed by Police in third place with four points and Felda at the bottom with only one point as the battle hots up when the second-leg matches begin this week. On Wednesday, Police will be at home to Selangor at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka which is their home venue.
In an evenly contested match at Shah Alam, both teams could not bring out their best on the slippery pitch but Sandro broke the deadlock on 52 minutes when he drilled home a Syami Safari cross – beating Police goalkeeper Shahril Sa’ari who until then was unbeatable.
On the hour mark, it was all square when Selangor gave away a freekick which proved disastrous. Police skipper Shahruain Abu Samah floated a perfect ball for Mentonegro planted an unstoppable header into the far corner past a rooted Khairul Azhan Khalid.
In a Group B encounter, Petaling Jaya City FC edged winless UiTM FC 1-0 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium to enhance their hopes of a top-two finish in the group for a place in the knockout stage of the competition.
Pedro Henrique netted the all-important goal on 29 minutes as PJ City moved up to second place in the group with six points in three matches. Favorites Johor Darul Takzim is the leader with seven points while PKNP (Perak SEDC) is third on four points. UiTM FC is without a point. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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