In their first ever season in the MSL, PJ City had already done what no other teams could in winning away to champions Johor Darul Ta’zim.
It was not Pahang or Kedah or Perak or Melaka, but unheralded Petaling Jaya City FC that became the first team to win a Malaysian Super League match at the home of Johor Darul Ta’zim FC. That record stood for almost seven full seasons but a Washingston Brandao goal meant a reset on that particular counter.
For PJ City to do it in the first season that they are promoted to the MSL is no mean feat. JDT may have already clinched the league title but they even managed to edge out Perak subsequently which meant that their motivation is still in the right place to finish the season unbeaten.
But K. Devan and Kalamullah Al-Hafiz had other plans and the latter’s performance in goal helped PJ City to clinch a famous victory on the road and even keep a clean sheet while doing so.
“As with the other games, we know that we are facing a team with a big reputation in the Malaysian league and that gave us a very big motivation to play in Larkin. We wanted to put on a good show and we achieved that objective.
“I must praise all my players because they played with disciplined, defended well, created a couple of chances and played to instructions. This is the kind of win that will give the team plenty of morale boost for the upcoming Malaysia Cup campaign.
“I think he’s (Kalamullah) the man-of-the-match. He saved a lot of dangerous situations especially from free kicks. He put on a great performance, he’s young but I’m sure he will be a very good keeper in years to come,” said Devan in the post-match press conference.
PJ City were already saved from relegation after last weekend’s shared points between PKNP FC and Felda United and this win caps a successful season for them in their first ever top flight season. Many a team have failed to adjust to the jump between the Premier League and Super League but that is not a problem for Devan and company.
With the wind in their sails now, Devan will be looking for his players to take as much pride and confidence from this win in the next match against PKNP and then to the Malaysia Cup competition which will kick off in August.
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