Just A Few Things: KL Vs. Pahang

Fair Result In The End

Both needed a win for different reasons. For Kuala Lumpur (KL), they need to win to distance themselves from the bottom while Pahang need the three points to catch up on Johor Darul Takzim (JDT).

KL took the lead twice thanks to Guilherme De Paula and captain Indra Putra, but also conceded the equalizer two times as well. The teams took the game to each other where KL were making smart passes and clever runs to try and catch their opponents off-guard. But Pahang continued their attacking approach and alos troubled KL as well. In the end, the points were rightly shared after a good game of football.

KL’s Interesting Emerging Pattern

Something weird is going on about KL. If you look closely at the points they won so far this season, they all come from matches against 3 of the top 4 teams from last season’s Super League.

KL seems to put up a great fight whenever they face a top side and here is no different. They gave Pahang a lot to think about. It’s amazing to think that they can perform against the top teams, but somehow struggle against the perceived weaker teams. With that said, what does that say about Selangor?

Kogileswaran Needs Another Chance

The experiment putting Mohamadou Sumareh as the centre-forward alongside Patrick Cruz in last week’s FA Cup 1st leg against JDT did not yield dividends for Dollah Salleh. So up stepped Kogileswaran Raj for the chance to stamp his mark.. While Kogileswaran did his best to try and get involved, he didn’t contribute anything worthy other than decent hold-up play.

That is until the hour mark when he made run on the left side and found some space to unleash a worthy contender for goal of the season by hitting the ball in the top right corner. The goal came out of nothing. There may be something more to it in the youngster. Whether he’ll be starting in the FA Cup Quarter final 2nd leg Vs. JDT, a much tougher opponent, is a different matter. He needs more games to truly assess whether he can fill in Francis Forkey Doe’s boots.

7/10 For Khatul Anuar

KL’s goalkeeping situation has been so shambolic this season that Fabio Magrao have opted to name another youth player, Ameerul Eqhwan, as the back-up goalkeeper for this match. Khatul Anuar made his second start after his debut Vs. Selangor last week. His rating in this match would’ve been higher had he not gifted Pahang’s equalizer by punching the ball straight to Sumareh. KL fans were dreading the worst yet again about their goalkeepers.

However, Khatul was able to redeem himself with at least three excellent saves that kept KL in this match. Denying Chan Vathanaka twice when he tipped over his right-wing free-kick and stopped his shot one-on-one after being fed by Cruz and also denied Sumareh his second of the night in a similar situation. But there was nothing he can do against Kogileswaran’s tremendous strike. For now, it seems Khatul is the temporary solution until the second transfer window opens where Magrao will ponder his options.

JDT Going To Run Away With It Again

With the result, Pahang has lost ground on JDT. They are now four points behind the Southern Tigers. It’s that same sinking feeling every team in the Super League has once again for the past few seasons.

With teams beating and drawing one another, it allowed JDT to reassert their dominance as shown what they did to PKNS a few days ago. Even during a period of uncertainty was not taken advantage when Ulisses Morais resigned and now it seems they rediscovered their groove under Raul Longhi when it comes to the domestic season. Pahang and Terengganu seem the best bets this season to push JDT all the way, but they need to be consistently winning to do so.