KUALA LUMPUR: It was one of the strangest matches in the life of the 55-year-old Selangor football coach Tan Cheng Hoe.
He must have thought that the Red Giants were in for a difficult night after falling behind 2-0 after Kelantan scored through Natanael Ringo's penalty (fifth minute) and Fazrul Amir Zaman (15th) at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium on Friday.
But yet it was Selangor who slammed in the next 11 goals without reply from Selangor.
On target for Selangor were Yohandry Orozco (29th minute), Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar (32nd), Ayron Del Valle (42nd, 45th, 64th, 87th), Richmon Boakye (48th, 79th, 86th) and Faisal Halim (51st, 54th).
The final score was 11-2, and an inconsolable Kelantan goalkeeper Irfan Haikal Mohd Iffendi dropped to the ground and had to be carried off the pitch by teammates.
On Kelantan's surprise two-goal lead, Cheng Hoe said that was due to his men not being focused from the first minute.
But one can't help but think it was a case of Selangor taking Kelantan lightly after the Red Warriors were massacred 8-0 and 10-0 respectively by Terengganu and JDT.
You can say Cheng Hoe sounds like a broken record, but he said it again: "I always tell my players that from the moment the first minute starts, we must focus."