KL down Immigration to break 26-year opening-day curse
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur have finally broken their opening-day curse by ending a 26-year wait for a first league match win with a 3-0 victory over Immigration at the Batu Kawan Stadium in Penang yesterday.
The City Boys' last win in a top-flight season opener came in 1999 when they beat Brunei.
KL drew first blood in the 31st minute, via a stroke of luck, when Immigration captain Rizal Ghazali inadvertently turned Gorka Larrucea's through ball into his own net.
Safawi Rasid doubled KL's lead in the 56th minute with a bullet header off an indirect free-kick from Manuel Hidalgo.
Hidalgo then converted a penalty in the 86th minute which was awarded after Zhafri Yahya was adjudged to have been fouled by Rafael Holstein after a video assistant referee (VAR) check by referee Mohd Shukor Zulkiflee.
KL coach Risto Vidakovic said that although he was satisfied with the result, there were still a few areas that the players needed to work on.
'I'm pleased with the result but not so much with the players, as they still have things to improve on,' he said.
'The team didn't play the way we wanted, but they tried. The weather was also a factor.'
As for Immigration coach Yusri Che Lah, he wants his charges to bounce back when they take on Kelantan at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium on Tuesday.
'We failed to convert two penalties but the players made a good effort. Now they need to evaluate themselves before the next match.'
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