Despite leading twice in their first leg semi-final Malaysia Cup match against Kedah on Saturday, Pahang could only come away with a draw.
BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Despite leading twice in their first leg semi-final Malaysia Cup match against Kedah on Saturday, Pahang could only come away with a 3-3 draw from the encounter.
In the match that was held at the Darul Aman Stadium, Pahang raced to a 2-0 lead when Wan Zaharulnizam struck from long range in the 13th minute, and Dickson Nwakaeme converted a 26th-minute penalty. Fernando Rodriguez pulled one back for the hosts six minutes later, but Jonatan Bauman failed to equalise from the spot in the 37th minute. Bizarrely, the home team was awarded another penalty just two minutes later, and this time Rodriguez did not miss.
Azam Azih put the visitors in front again with his own shot from outside the box in the 73rd minute, but it would not end up as the winner. In the dying moments of the match, Zaquan Adha nodded in the equaliser from a set-piece situation.
Speaking after the match to the press, Elephants boss Dollah Salleh remarked that although his charges played well in overall, they were let down by their inability to be more clinical, as well as by their failure in keeping out the hosts’ attackers.
“We played well but made mistakes and conceded soft goals. The defence left a lot to be desired in set-piece situations, and was not disciplined in their marking. I yelled at them just before the last-gasp equaliser was scored, but the goal still happened.
“We dominated 50, 60 per cent of the game, but we did not put away more of the numerous chances we created in the first 15 minutes However, I’m still pleased with and proud of the performance despite the draw. The soggy pitch after the rain demanded too much of the players, and near the end every single one of them was just exhausted.
“God willing we’ll be better at home in Kuantan for the second leg, as long as my players don’t keep repeating the mistakes I’ve been telling them to cut down on,” said the former Malaysia head coach.
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