ACL2: Faisal Halim Relishes Longest Appearance Since Acid Attack

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Sensational Selangor FC winger Mohamad Faisal Abdul Halim was delighted after making his debut while helping the Red Giants to their maiden victory in the 2024/25 Asian Football Confederation Champions League (AFC) 2 (ACL2) campaign, yesterday.

In the second action of Group H at Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ), Selangor beat Dynamic Herb Cebu FC from the Philippines 1-0 and Mohamad Faisal or better known as Faisal Halim was included as a substitute in the 62nd minute.

Faisal said in that match, he got the longest match minutes since returning to action in August after an acid attack incident in May that almost destroyed his career.

"Alhamdulillah, got three points for the team at home in the ACL2 competition, it is not an easy game. Anyway I got the longest game minutes, this is the first game I got long minutes.

"Now almost five months (since the acid attack), I will continue to progress step by step to get the (best) performance. For me (current performance) is not enough yet, it is not yet time for me to be satisfied. I'm still at the stage to find my performance again," he said after the match, yesterday.

Commenting further, the 26-year-old Asian Cup 2023 Best Goal Scorer admitted that he was satisfied to be able to make an appearance on the Asian championship stage after missing the opportunity with his former club Terengganu FC last season after moving to Selangor.

"Alhamdulillah we worked hard to come to Asia, today that dream came true to be with Selangor and to experience (the Asian competition). But there are still many matches, we have to fix what is lacking and I have to work hard," he said, who was not included in the first action.

In the meantime, Faisal feels that the competition in ACL2 can speed up the process for him to return to achieve his best performance.

"High intensity, great competition, not an easy match, I think it's good for me actually. We are playing at a high level, I am looking for rhythm and minutes of the game and will progress step by step," he said.

After two games, Selangor are now in second position with four points, two points behind the leader Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from South Korea while Thailand's Muangthong United is third (one point) and Dynamic Herb Cebu is at the bottom with no points.

Next, the squad coached by Nidzam Jamil will face Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the third match of the group at MBPJ Stadium on Oct 23.

-- BERNAMA