Just A Few Things: KL Vs. Perak

Credit: Malaysian Football League

Wild, Wild, Wild

No one could ever envision how this turned out in the end. In a match where the complexion of the bottom half of the Super League can change erratically, this clash displayed an astounding, tremendous & dramatic encounter between these two sides flirting with the relegation zone, though both sides felt they deserve the three points.

Not only this match saw a lot of goals, there were been defensive errors, penalty calls, an own goal and even red cards. You would be forgiven if you think this was a match between two teams that has a historic rivalry (But there’s none). It was end-to-end with both sides looking very threatening to score. There could’ve been more goals had it not been for wayward passing in the 2nd half.

Tonight also saw Indra Putra Mahayuddin now within one goal short of reaching 100, but that moment was overshadowed by other things happening in the game as I do the best I can to highlight them.

Weak Spots

Both sides however have weak spots within their defence. KL right-back Zaiful Abdul Hakim will surely try to put a disastrous first-half into the back of his mind. KL looked very bright at the start, but it quickly came undone after seven minutes when Zaiful bundled the ball into his own net thanks to a horrible miscommunication between him and Irfan Zakaria. It got worse for the right-back when he clumsily fouled Gilmar when KL keeper Mohd Faridzeuan closed down on a low cross. While Nor Hakim gave him a lot to think about, he didn’t utilize the weakness fully.

Perak though has a weakness too within their back-up centre-back Idris Ahmad. He doesn’t look too assuring. When he was pressed even slightly, he looked shaky before opting a safe pass to either his keeper or the nearest teammate. Just like Zaiful, he gave away a penalty right before half-time. He needlessly blatantly pushed Guilherme De Paula just inside the box when there was another teammate about to sweep a long ball. And like Perak, they didn’t attack enough down on his side.

Not even Hafizul Hakim was spared from being the weak spot. The usually reliable goalkeeper had a night to forget when he gifted KL’s first equalizer and also misjudged Paulo Josue’s right-wing free-kick that gave KL the lead for the first time. Though he did make it up somewhat by reading a few of KL’s attacking situations well in the second half.

Ref’s Bad Day

Further questions have to be asked about the refereeing standards after Mohammad Zamzaidi Katimin’s poor performance in this match. He was very inconsistent in making some calls where he awarded some fouls that looked soft and didn’t on some fouls that looked obvious. Heck, even both sides had one good shout each for another penalty, but neither was given. Though the red cards given to KL’s Luke Woodland (violent conduct) and Perak’s Nazirul Naim (second yellow for a late challenge) was the right decision.

However, some of the cards he gave were very questionable, such as booking Guilherme for an accidental handball and seemingly booking Shahrel Fikri shortly after Woodland’s red card where he hasn’t done anything wrong (Unless he said something that constitutes dissent). All in all, Zamzaidi was very lopsided as fans made their annoyance known at him by full-time.

Contrasting Changes

One of the changes each by both sides highlights the difference they can make. KL got the short end of the stick with their own one though. Having forced to make two changes due to Woodland’s sending off and Zhafri Yahya’s injury early on, stand-in head coach Chong Yee Fatt made a sub in between those incidents when he bought on Arif Anwar for Hafiz Johar on the right-wing to bring some freshness. Instead, what they got was sourness. Arif looked very lazy when going forward and trekking back. There was no urgency within him, looked very casual and didn’t contribute anything forward. In conclusion, he yielded no impact and drew annoyance from the KL fans.

Perak meanwhile played a bit risky following Nazirul’s red card. Instead of bringing on a defender, they bought on Khairil ‘Beto’ Anwar for Shahrel for a more incisive threat. Their own change made a considerable impact. Beto took substitute Fitri Omar on a wild ride as he dazzled down the right with his silky footwork. It took a few minutes later for Perak to bring on Rafiuddin Rodin to stabilize the defence, but Beto at least had the desired influence to give problems to KL’s defence on his flank at least.

Is Durakovic Feeling The Heat?

It’s ten games in and Perak’s current record has to raise concern from their fans. This 3-3 draw may be thrilling, but that is now Perak’s seventh draw in ten games and only won once, having suffered losses to Johor Darul Takzim on opening day and most recently Pahang a few days ago.

Not only that, this is the third league game in a row that Perak has benefitted from a red card, but have failed to take advantage of the situation. The team looked bereft of any clear-cut chances, let alone goals and it’s looking bleak. Even all their goals tonight came from favorable circumstances (same thing can be said about KL’s first two goals), though Nor Hakim did well to react quickly to hammer the equalizer five minutes from time.

This is a far cry from their successful 2018 season and it’s quite amazing how much they’re struggling now. Perak may be doing a good job becoming a Valencia CF tribute act by getting a lot of draws, but they’re not doing well going up the table. Keep this up and head coach Mehmed Durakovic’s position has to be questioned whether he is the solution for the long term.