BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
After his new Selangor charges only managed a draw at home against Felda United in their matchday one Malaysia Super League match on Sunday, head coach B. Satiananthan blamed two factors for their failure to win.
New foreign signing Antonio German opened the scoring just before halftime at the Shah Alam Stadium with a thunderous shot from outside the box, but the visitors' new captain Hadin Azman equalised in the 69th minute through a shot from tight angle, against the run of play.
Selangor vs Felda match highlights
The result was an underwhelming outcome to their first competitive match under the new leadership of association president, Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin, after they have been working hard throughout the pre-season winning over the fans again.
Speaking to the press after the encounter, Satiananthan remarked that his midfield did not do as he instructed.
"We dropped two points, for sure. It was not our best game. We didn't take our chances and play to our level, we gave away the ball too often in the middle of the park.
"It was just stupid to go through the middle when we should have used the flanks more. Some of them were trying to be clever with their passes, only to lose possession and causing us to be hit back with counter-attacks.
"Felda covered their penalty area every time they lost the ball, and my players need to learn to overcome teams who play this way," said the former Felda boss.
But the outspoken trainer saved his sternest words for the stadium operator, who according to him caused a delay in letting his team train at the venue ahead of the match.
"Do you know we were only able to train (at the stadium) the day before the match? They told me it took 40 days to repair the field, tell me; did it look like a 40-day repair job? I don't think so.
"I can do it in two weeks. If you don't believe me, ask ATM and Kelantan (his former teams). Don't come and tell me [it takes] 40 days, don't give me that excuse. If the field had been maintained properly and we had been given a chance to train on it, maybe we could have done better," he remarked.
However, he promised that his charges will improve in their next encounter, against Petaling Jaya City next weekend.
"I have to commend our supporters who have turned out today. Please keep backing us as the twelfth player.
"I promise, the players won't make the same mistakes in the coming matches. The first match is always difficult," implored the former Malaysia trainer.
Follow Goal Malaysia s Instagram account to see photos and watch videos from Malaysian football!
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
