PETALING JAYA, April 22 — Selangor overcame a state song blooper at the Selayang Stadium on Wednesday to end their three-match winless streak in Super League with a 1-0 victory over Penang.
In another incident that made a mockery of professionalism, the Kuala Lumpur state song was played to boos from supporters, before the track switched to the national anthem.
The Kuala Lumpur song was then replayed, before ending abruptly. Both sets of supporters did justice to the teams by singing their respective state songs, observed by the players.
A Selangor official later confirmed the CD which contained both states’ tracks “got stuck”, resulting in the glitch.
It did not affect the Red Giants, who kept a clean sheet after 11 games while notching a first league win since beating Sarawak 4-2 on March 1. The winner came courtesy of Argentine striker Mauro Olivi.
The 33-year-old missed Selangor’s 2-1 AFC Cup win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmodi last Tuesday through suspension but marked his return by curling a freekick past the goalkeeper midway through the first half.
Olivi was dropped after being involved in an on-pitch argument with Hafiz Kamal following the 3-1 loss to Felda on April 8.
“We need to tighten the back and sharpen our attacks,” said Selangor coach Zainal Abidin Hassan.
“This is our second consecutive victory and confidence is on the rise. But it’s far from our best,” added the 54-year-old, who refused to delve into the spat between Olivi and Hafiz.
“That incident is in the past. Olivi looked sharp and it was a good winner from him. I’d like to see it happen more often.”
Penang’s caretaker coach Manzoor Azwira, meanwhile, challenged his local players to fight to their underachieving foreigners.
“It’s a pity we couldn’t convert our chances,” said Manzoor, in charge of his second game after taking over from the “rested” Jacksen Tiago earlier this month.
“I’d like to see our boys take on the imports, who haven’t been that great.”
