BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Despite coming away only with a 1-1 draw at home against an in-form Kedah in their Super League match on Wednesday, Selangor head coach Maniam Pachaiappan was evidently elated at the result.
When asked after the match whether he was satisfied with the scoreline, Maniam said that the draw against Kedah felt like a win.
"For the players, the management and also for the supporters, this one point feels like a win!" said Maniam in an interview with the match broadcaster.
He also said that his initial plan for the game was to avoid from conceding.
"Throughout the match Kedah controlled the game, our target had been to avoid conceding. Our boys played very well.
"We were down 1-0 and had to make a decision, to bring on an attacking player (Nurshamil Ghani) and press them, and it worked. We were awarded a penalty and converted it," explained the former Selangor player.
In the round seven league match at the Selayang Municipal Stadium, the visitors had to wait until the 80th minute to open the scoring through a wonderful Sandro da Silva freekick, due to the home side's defensive approach.
The Red Eagles looked on course to record their fourth league win on the trot, until deep in injury time the referee awarded a penalty to Selangor for a foul on Syahmi Safari. Victoras Astafei's spotkick was stopped by the goalkeeper, but Juliano Mineiro was on hand to tuck in the rebound.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)