Posted at 12:00h in THE VOICE OF CITY BOYS by Kuala Lumpur City Football Club
It was a goal-fest at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium on Sunday, as the City Boys stormed into the next round of the FA Cup, with an 8-0 win over M3 (3rd division) side Langkawi City FC, our biggest winning margin in this competition that was introduced in 1990, overhauling the previous club record of 6-2 against Armed Forces in 1995.
Coach Bojan, despite stating that any knockout competition possesses its own bag of tricks, twists and surprises, expectedly, rang in the changes to his starting eleven, in consideration of the opponent and the competition, and it was an offensive set-up. Goalkeeper Azri. G and defender Nik Umar, both made their debuts in the Red and White, while Anwar, Nabil, Fakrul and Safee, who captained the side, appeared for the first time this season.
Gallifuoco returned to take his place in the heart of the backline, following his suspension in the previous match against Kedah Darul Aman, partnering Nik Umar, while Nabil and Anwar flanked them on the left and right respectively. Kenny, who had a large entourage of his family members watching from the grandstand, protected the back four, with Zhafri as the creative option. Partiban, Fakrul, M. Hadin and Safee made up the attacking quartet.
It did not take too long for our boys to have their first real look at goal, arriving as early as the 2nd minute, when M. Hadin upped the pace to skip past 3 players, charging into the box, and releasing a near-post shot from an acute angle that met with the outstretched leg of the keeper. That was a precursor to a busy night, Amirun Nazmi, the Island Boys’ No.1 had continuously picked the ball out of the net.
Surprisingly though, the young opponents held on a little while longer before the floodgates burst open in the 13th minute. Fakrul, near the centre circle in Langkawi’s half, picks a long ball from Anwar, turns to find the overlapping Partiban’s down the right; his first touch betrays him, but he redeems himself with a cutback to the creator of the move, Fakrul, who finishes with aplomb from the top of the penalty box!
2 minutes later it was 2-0! Zhafri intercepts a pass by the islanders’ Zulhairi Aiman, and releases Safee down the left channel into the danger zone. The veteran striker changes the angle to his right foot, strikes with venom only to see the goalkeeper parry the ball into the path of Partiban who gleefully tapped home.
Fakrul got his second of the night a minute shy of the half-hour mark, through a wonderfully worked move. Nik Umar going on an unchallenged run into Langkawi’s territory pushes it to Anwar, who quickly spots Partiban’s run from behind the opponents’ line, playing the ball into space. The latter whips in a low cross into the six-yard box, for Fakrul to backheel into the goal.
Right before the whistle went for a chance of a breather, the islanders were punished once again. This time, they just stood ball watching, extending an invitation for Zhafri to unleash a special from 25 metres out, curling the ball into the top right corner, and even invoking a big smile from our coach, Bojan. It was the No.8’s third goal in the last 3 matches, scoring in each.
Halftime, 4-0 it was on the scoreboard.
We took a while to get going in the second period, perhaps the job was done by then, but it did not stop our Croatian tactician from injecting fresh pairs of legs amongst those on the bench. In the 58th minute, the fourth referee struggled with the logistics of our triple substitution. Out went Fakrul, who missed his chance of a hattrick, Anwar and Safee, and in came Ryan, Koubemba and Paulo Josue, taking over the captaincy.
Those changes bore the fifth goal, a quarter of an hour later. Paulo Josue wins the ball on the right, and whips in a cross near the ‘D’, finding a completely unmarked M.Hadin, who plays a simple pass for Koubemba in the box. The Congolese spots the incoming challenge from Hasif Khalid, roll the ball from his left to his right and smashes goalbound only for Amirun to push it to Gallifuoco, and the Australian made no mistake from six yards out, with an open goal beckoning.
The tiring legs of the semi-professional side could no longer cope with the city slickers, and just 3 minutes later, M.Hadin got his name on the scoresheet. Ryan intercepts on the right to find the captain. The Brazilian picks out Zhafri in the middle, who in turn spreads to M.Hadin on his left at the top of the box. The KL born native, powers past Satheskumar Krishnan into the box with his explosive pace, and bludgeons an unstoppable finish to Amirun’s despair. His second goal of the season and 6-0!
Goal No.7 came 3 minutes from time. Zhafri once again playing a key role, threads a through ball to Koubemba at the top of the box. All he did was stick afoot at it, laying it off for Paulo Josue, whose first touch sets his right foot to swing effortlessly into the goal, leaving the keeper stranded to the ground.
The final nail in the coffin for the young team without any foreign players came with a minute to go. A misplaced pass by Khairuddin Salleh was picked up in our own half by Gallifuoco. He promptly relayed it to Paulo Josue in the middle of Langkawi’s half, who just took a single touch before repaying Koubemba’s gesture earlier with a masterful pass into the box. On the run, the lanky striker turned Zaide Mohd Zain, then whacked a near-post shot which Amirun did not even see, for his second goal of the campaign.
So there you have it, 8-0! The City Boys’ biggest victory in this stadium, which is also another for the record books (previously was 6-0, vs Armed Forces in 2009), and our second biggest win in history (biggest win, 9-0 vs Sarawak in 1990). Even though we realise the measure of the opposition, it certainly felt good to win again, and win for the first time this season. A dominating performance indeed with 7 different scorers. If there was any wish for today apart from what the doctor ordered, was for the defence to be tested, but surely Bojan & Co. will be working on this during the calendar break, and arrange a friendly or two, to chart the progress.
Kuala Lumpur City vs Langkawi City : 44 Azri.G (GK), 9 Gallifuoco, 22 Nik Umar, 25 Anwar (58’ 6 Ryan), 66 Nabil, 8 Zhafri, 21 Kenny (77’ 15 Azhar), 10 Safee (C) (58’ 28 Paulo Josue (C), 16 Partiban, 27 Hadin (79’ 12 Declan), 30 Fakrul (58’ 11 Koubemba)
Subs Not Used: 20 Azim Al Amin (GK), 4 Kamal Azizi, 14 Akram, 17 Irfan
Referees : S. Logeswaran, Assistants : Mohamad Mu’azi bin Zainal Abidin, Muhammad Hafizi bin Kasmuri; Fourth Official : Zahid Abd Aziz
Attendance: 329
He told The Voice of City Boys:
The versatile and experienced player scored 2 goals during the match against Langkawi City and he was also involved in key moments.
To watch the highlights of this match, please click
To watch the complete match, please click
Next up for the City Boys, is the visit of Johor Darul Ta’zim in Match Day 3 of the Super League, Wednesday, 6/4/2022 at 9 pm at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Bandar Tun Razak, Cheras.
Information on tickets will be informed nearer to the match.
For Season Ticket Holders (B2 City Boys), enjoy 20% off regular ticket prices for your friends and/or family (Limited to a maximum of 4 tickets per transaction. Contact Shamim for details)
Prepared by The Voice of The City Boys
Statistics by Devinder Singh