BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Keeping a cleansheet proved beyond Selangor's capabilities again, this time leading to a 3-2 defeat to Perak in their matchday 20 Super League encounter on Wednesday.
Despite leading twice in the first half at the Perak Stadium, the Red Giants conceded each time, before eventually letting in Perak's third goal in the second, which went unanswered.
Next Match
In the post-match press conference, while Selangor boss B. Satiananthan praised the performance shown by the hosts, he expressed his frustrations towards his defenders for conceding goals too easily.
"What I regretted was the way my team played; they didn't control the game at all. And then despite scoring two goals, they conceded an own goal which happened due to the lack of communications.
"Perak's second goal was from a penalty, yes, but it was a rebound after the spot kick had struck the post, and everyone was caught napping. I find this very appalling," explained the experienced trainer.
He was also unhappy that a number of his players have been injured, denying him the chance to field the strongest line-up, leading him to jest that he may need supernatural assistance in their next encounter.
"I can't blame Hakim (Norhakim Isa) for the third goal; he's not fully fit yet but I had to play him and Syazwan [Zainon] because I'd wanted at least one point, while Syahmi [Safari] has just returned to full fitness. Sarkunan [Krishnansamy] lacked match fitness as he had just returned from suspension. These are why we were soft in the first half.
"We have another game this Saturday (against Petaling Jaya City) with Praba (Kanadasan Prabakaran) and Nuri (Nurridzuan Abu Hassan) injured. I have the responsibility to prepare a strong team in order to win our final two matches, if we want to finish the campaign in the top-four position.
"PJ City have had a long rest (due to the postponement of their JDT clash) so the advantage will be with them. I may need to pray five times a day to help the players recover fully, while those who are injured may need a bomoh (witch doctor) instead of a doctor, before this Saturday's match," joked the former Felda United head coach.
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