MSL Feb 16th Terengganu VS Perak: Final Match Result

I really blew it this time. :-)

I was really surprised to hear that Perak managed to escape with a draw from this game. Soccer bookmakers all over the world expected Perak to lose since the odds were against them. I even made a prediction that Perak will lose the game last Saturday a few hours before the game.

I guess Perak was lucky. If not for Razali Umar, Perak’s lanky, speedy (he’s a good 3-4 seconds faster than Khalid Jamlus in a 40 yard dash) and possibly the only true striker managed to score the equalizer a few minutes after Terengganu had scored their first goal. My colleagues who were there last Saturday in Kuala Terengganu reported that overall Terengganu dominated the game, forcing Perak to defend in numbers at the back.

That doesn’t sound like Perak that we knew, wasn’t it?

Still, hats off to Yunus Aliff and his team. They had proven that Terengganu is very strong at home and I think they might be able to maintain their good run in front of their home fans for the rest of the MSL 2007-2008 soccer league season.

Steve Darby, Perak’s British head coach and many perceive him as the Barclays Premier League-standard soccer coach deserves a big pat on the back too. This is probably his biggest success for Perak this season. Bringing home Perak’s first point from an away game! Perak FA must have been ecstatic! :-)

Too bad for Perak and their soccer fans though. Their team finished second best in the first round of the MSL 2007-2007 soccer season but after two games in the new second round, Perak is now ‘jalan-jalan cari makan’ languishing at the fourth spot, right behind Kedah, Selangor and Perlis. By the way things are going at the moment; I think Perak deserves the current fourth spot. Perak is not the same team that we saw last season. Perak is no longer in the same class with Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis and Selangor. Losing players like Keita Mandjou and Troare Abdoulaye meant that Perak had lost their sharp teeth somehow and that is good news for Perak’s opponents.

Sure, Jamlus and Caceres had delivered the goals for Perak by far but they are far from being consistent or reliable. I will still maintain my point that Jamlus is not the real deal. Anybody can score goals if he is given the opportunity to do so in the penalty box area. Look at his past goals; they were not at all impressive. He just happened to be at the right spot at the right time, that’s all. Somebody else has to do the hard work for him. There’s no way in hell he can replace quality players like Keita Mandjou. You got that, Perak FA?

Steve Darby knew this deep down inside but he’s not going to say anything about it. His pride as the Barclays Premier League-standard soccer coach probably prohibits him from admitting it. All I know is that his employer expects roses and daisies from him and he has to make sure that they get it.

Tags: perak fa, malaysian super league, football, soccer, malaysia