Just A Few Things: PJ City Vs. PKNP

Credit: MFL

What Now?

Prior to the match, PKNP was ahead of their two relegation rivals, but only by goal difference. Win against PJ City and they were officially safe. However, failing to take their clear chances that they have ultimately cost them not just the match, but also their status as a Super League team after FELDA United astonishingly smacked Kedah 5-1 at home.

They join Kuala Lumpur dropping to the 2020 Premier League, but even then there is still uncertainty whether they will be playing beyond this year. There could be a possibility that the club might disband according to Goal.com’s Kin Fai on Twitter. It would be a massive shame if it does turn out that way after they worked hard to get into the top division, especially on the work put in by Abu Bakar Fadzim and the players to get here.

Out Of The Cage

PJ City’s first two clear chances of the game came in the first ten minutes when Pedro Henrique’s bicycle kick didn’t dip enough in time and R. Barathkumar’s searing strike just whistled wide of the post. With those chances coming in quickly, it was perhaps expected that the game will come further alive. But barely anything else came afterward.

Neither side created anything worthwhile and you could hardly blame the neutrals (If there is any) watching this to switch to another gam, especially with the developments of the FELDA/Kedah match. But once the restart came, PKNP played with renewed energy. They created more clear-cut chances than the whole of first half combined. Half-time sub Fazrul Hazli had a chance or two thwarted by a certain keeper, Giancarlo didn’t get his somewhat free header right and defender Amani Aguinaldo’s header just flashed wide of the far post from a corner.

The most glaring miss of them all came from Ramon Da Silva when the ball came to him far post from a corner, only for the winger to fail to get a touch on it with the goal at his mercy around the 50-minute mark. It was those fine margins that damaged PKNP’s hopes in the end.

Steady Kalamullah

With the Super League approaching its end, PJ City head coach K. Devan decided to give back-up keeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz a run of starts. Following this match, Kalamullah has successfully taken his chances consistently. Having been praised earlier this week for keeping champions Johor Darul Takzim at bay, the keeper continued his solid form by keeping out PKNP.

Kalamullah read almost every situation well to keep PJ City in this match having made decent saves and stood firm in catching any incoming balls. Though he was bailed out during injury time when Giancarlo’s header hit the bar while he was scrambling to get back into his goal. Still, it was another solid performance by the keeper. The calm keeper has now given Devan further depth in the goalkeeping department along with their no. 1, Muhaimin Mohamad.

Missing An Orchestrator

They may have come away a scrappy win, but the lack of presence of a certain South Korean orchestrator was somewhat felt by PJ City. Bae Beom-Geun was the most notable name missing from the PJ City squad. It was up to Serginho, Barathkumar or K. Thivandran to try and start the counter, but a lot of them fizzled out in the end.

So it was a good thing for them they won a penalty via handball on 75 minutes and Washington Brandao smashed the ball into the roof of the net for the only goal of the game. Their counter attacks however were slightly off and the lack of creativity with Beom-Geun’s absence perhaps played a part in this. The one time they got a threatening counter going, Pedro Henrique somehow dragged his shot wide with only the keeper to beat in injury time. However, with PKNP’s many chances in the 2nd half compared to PJ City’s few, PJ City were perhaps a little lucky they came away with a win.