Defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) edged a thrilling penalty shootout 7-6 to win the 2016 Charity Shield after being held to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes by Selangor in their Malaysia Super League (MSL) opener on Saturday night.
After Hariss Harun put JDT ahead just before half-time, a Hafiz Kamal free-kick saw Selangor equalise in the 61st minute. After winger R. Gopinathan missed the chance to give the visitors victory in the shootout, full-back Azrif Nasrulhaq sent the decisive spot kick wide to hand the trophy to the Southern Tigers.
Here are three thoughts from an entertaining game at Larkin Stadium.
1. JDT's new strike force
For all their riches and ability to attract world-class talent, the retirement of Luciano Figueroa at the end of last season has left a gaping hole in Johor's attack.
Figueroa was the man who everyone turned to when goals were needed or when on-field morale needed to be raised.
When former MSL golden boot Paulo Rangel was signed from Terengganu and then surprisingly relegated to JDT II, they recruited Juan Martin Lucero, another Argentine attacker. He only arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday after playing for Indepediente in his homeland last Sunday.
Even so, the 24-year-old was thrown straight into action and showed his pedigree immediately, showing an instant understanding with fellow Argentine Jorge Pereyra Diaz at the pointy end of the JDT attack
The pair combined in the 14th minute to free up captain Safiq Rahim whose close range shot blazed over the bar. And then in the 41st minute, Safiq's powerful shot was parried away by Norazlan after smart buildup play from the same duo.
And Lucero went close to opening his JDT account in the 72nd minute when lively substitute Nazrin Nawi's cross from the left flashed past his outstretched leg with the goal at his mercy.
Given that he seemed full of energy over the 90 minutes despite only arriving in the country three days earlier, it was an impressive debut by a man who has big shoes to fill. But Diaz was JDT's most dangerous player on the night.
2. Hariss Harun's heroics
With all the fuss about Safuwan Baharudin signing with MSL club PDRM FA this season, it was perhaps easy to forget about his former LionsXII teammate Hariss at JDT.
Since moving north of the Causeway in 2014, the midfielder who was Singapore's youngest ever international debutant at the age of 16 in 2007, has picked up three major trophies, including the 2015 AFC Cup.
And at the end of a tidy first half, he gave a timely reminder of his value with the goal that put his side ahead in the shadows of the break.
After a period of sustained JDT pressure, Selangor failed to track Hariss' run as he met Safiq's corner from the right with a laser-like, near-post header that gave Selangor keeper Norazlan no chance.
It gave JDT the boost they needed going into the second half and once again justified Hariss' starting place in Malaysian football's most talented midfield.
He also coolly converted JDT's important fifth penalty during the nail-biting shootout. Now 25 years old and Singapore's skipper for much of the 2018 AFC World Cup qualifying campaign, Hariss remains one of his nation's most accomplished professionals.
3. All change at Selangor
Barely two months have passed since Selangor lifted the 2015 Malaysia Cup by defeating Kedah 2-0 in the final in front of more than 80,000 fans at Shah Alam Stadium.
And, yet it was a quite different Red Giants' squad who arrived at Larkin Stadium, with eight new players, including four from Pahang and ex-Elephants' head coach Zainal Abidin Hassan. The ex-national striker controversially took the place of his former Selangor teammate Mehmet Durakovic at the helm last month.
Zainal kept the core of Durakovic's Malaysia Cup winning side, with three exceptions -- midfielder Hafiz Kamal (Pahang) and forwards Patrick Wleh (PKNS) and Mauro Olivi (Leon de Huanuco, Argentina).
A bruising first half saw both goalkeepers receive treatments for knocks and 2015 Malaysia Cup hero Hazwan Bakri substituted after picking up a leg injury in the 28th minute from a heavy tackle. In the second half, Nazmi Faiz was stretchered off and Australian defender Robbie Cornthwaite was also forced from the field with knee and ankle niggles.
A worrying toll of wounded players was exactly what Zainal didn't need in his competitive debut as Selangor head coach.
But it was his ex-Pahang favourite Hafiz who brought the Red Giants back into the game with a sweet free-kick from just beyond the right hand side of the box in the 61st minute that caught Farizal Marlias napping at the near post.
Wleh, the big Liberian nicknamed 'Ronaldinho' who scored against Liverpool last July, was kept quiet. But Olivi was more threatening and very nearly became the Selangor hero in the 71st minute when his long-range left-footed shot tested Farizal. Instead, he ended up missing a costly penalty in the shootout.
It will take Selangor's new-look side time to bed in the new recruits. But a strong second half performance to earn an away point will give encouragement to coach Zainal, who acknowledges he will be under pressure immediately to produce the results.