Just A Few Things: Kedah Vs. Pahang | Piala Malaysia 2020

Aerial Blues

Whatever Pahang had in mind to deter Kedah’s attack, it certainly didn’t work. It didn’t look like Pahang got their defensive shape in check consistently especially and more importantly in this context, in dealing with any aerial balls Kedah has to offer. This proved to be their undoing as they conceded all three goals thanks in part to Kedah's aerial deliveries. First, Pahang criminally allowed defender Shakir Hamzah to score a free header to put the home side ahead.

Then for Kedah’s 2nd goal, Pahang went into panic stations and no one picked up Kpah Sherman as Kipre Tchetche’s cross was swung in for the Liberian to score with another free header. For Kedah’s 3rd of the night, S. Kumaahran somehow didn’t deal with a certain winger’s right-wing cross and the ball fell nicely for Kipre at the far post who thundered it home into the net to punish the right-back’s failure to get to the cross.

Pahang was also caught out a few times with the defensive high line, particularly from long balls, as they looked to salvage something. Though Kedah failed to further take advantage of it. Unfortunately, Pahang’s defensive lapses have cost the match and progression to the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.

More Organized

Another factor to how the match played out is when you look closely at the way both teams defend. Pahang may have had the most possession but Kedah’s defence looked much tidier compared to their opponents. Starting out in a 4-3-3, Kedah went 4-1-4-1 at times when they defended and Pahang sometimes would find themselves hitting deadends as a result of Kedah’s somewhat narrow defensive shape. Pahang had to go wide as a result where striker Ivan Carlos would occasionally have to drift wide to keep the attack going.

Kedah was content to sit quite deep and absorb the pressure. Once they do get possession, they would utilize the pace of the front three to catch Pahang out with a counter and they looked threatening as well. However, they failed to add to their goal tally on the night and despite ending on a nervy note, their three goals were enough to see them through despite conceding two goals (Which we’ll go next).

Elephant Onslaught

Whatever Dollah Salled said in his half-time perhaps had the desired effect. While still keeping a high line to salvage something, Pahang at the very least had more conviction in the 2nd half and dominated almost the entire second 45 minutes. Pahang kept bombarding the Kedah final third in hopes to get back into the match with a higher tempo compared to the first half.

Pahang eventually did take advantage of Kedah’s own lapses when they moved up the defence line slightly. Muslim Ahmad scored a somewhat free header from Nor Azam Azih’s cross. Then, Nor Azam’s strayed shot fell nicely to the path of substitute Faizal Abdul Rani, who timed his run to perfection and duly scored when the Kedah defence expected an offside call on 88 minutes. But Pahang could’ve scored their 2nd goal and could’ve made things much more interesting 10 minutes earlier when the usually reliable Dickson Nwakaeme incredibly struck the bar from the penalty spot.

Despite Pahang’s efforts, they failed to complete the comeback. However, they at least went down fighting.

Faizat’s Delight

Kedah’s Faizat Ghazli must’ve been like a kid in Legoland when he saw the narrow defensive line deployed by Pahang. The space given to him allowed the winger to attack it along with the time given to him to play a decisive pass. The narrow defensive line also prompted Kedah to spread out further in order to stretch the play. Faizat enjoyed the space down on the wings no matter which side he was on.

As a result, he played crucial roles in Kedah’s 2nd and 3rd goals. Firstly, his long ball found the run of Kipre down on the right before the Ivorian played the cross to the unmarked Sherman. Then just before half-time, he was the one who delivered the cross that led to Kipre slamming in the third. Faizat continued to grow in the game, but saw his night ended early as he was subbed off around the hour mark for Azammuddin Akil. Even so, it was still a good shift by the ex-Penang & PKNS winger.

At A Cost

Unfortunately, Kedah will likely have to go into the quarter-finals without one of their key players. Shortly after Dickson Nwakaeme’s penalty hitting the bar, Renan Alves quickly got into the box to prevent the Nigerian from scoring the rebound, and he duly did so. However, he nastily collided with the big striker in the process and it resulted in him injuring what looked like his hamstring. Renan did try to soldier on, but the pain eventually became too much for the Brazilian defender to the point a stretcher is needed to carry him off the pitch. 

All this could likely mean Renan Alves will miss the next match as a result. And it’s not very ideal for the Red Eagles as their next opponent, regardless if it’s Selangor or Melaka, will be tough to deal with.