Super League: Five-Star City Boys Trounce Youthful Kedah Side

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- Skipper and naturalised striker Paulo Josue led by example as he bagged a hat-trick to inspire Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC to trounce a relatively inexperienced Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC 5-0 in their Super League match at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium here tonight.

KDA fielded five Under-23 and five Under-20 players in their starting lineup after the seniors boycotted training due to unpaid salaries and were clearly out of their depth.

The City Boys drew first blood through their Bosnia and Herzegovina import Jovan Motika in the 14th minute before Josue doubled their lead with a header in the 23rd minute and midfielder Zhafri Yahya made it 3-0 off a freekick three minutes later.

The home team continued in the same vein after the break, with the Brazil-born Josue making it 4-0 with his second of the night with a left-footed shot past young KDA goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizy Mohd Hajazy in the 49th minute.

Josue wrapped up the scoring by notching his hat-trick in the 58th minute, firing home a cross from Motiva from the left to the delight of the 1,180 spectators.

Previously, KDA FC head coach Mohd Nafuzi Zain said he would field a young team because the first-team players did not attend their training sessions for the past few days, believed to be due to their frustration over the salary arrears issue that has dragged on for several months.

Meanwhile, Perak FC recorded their third win of the season after edging Negeri Sembilan FC (NSFC) 1-0 at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, courtesy of a goal by Brazilian import striker Clayton Da Silveira Da Silva in the 47th minute.

NSFC goalkeeper Muhammad Aqil Abdul Razak denied Perak the chance to double their lead when he saved a 65th-minute penalty taken by Perak skipper Luciano Guaycochea.

Perak earned the spot kick after Mohamad Izzuddin Mohd Roslan was adjudged to have fouled defender Muhammad Nur Azfar Fikri Azhar.

Perak are now up to eighth in the standings with nine points from eight matches, with KL City and KDA in ninth and 10th positions on eight points each while NSFC are 12th with four points. 

-- BERNAMA