The first round of 2017 Malaysia Cup matches kicked off last night, a total of eight matches took place simultaneously.
Super League club FELDA United hosted second-tier team Kuala Lumpur at the former’s home, the Stadium Tun Abdul Razak in Jengka.
Armed with new signings over the transfer window and a moral boost from defeating Pahang last Saturday, FELDA were ready to take on Kuala Lumpur at home for their first Malaysia Cup fixture this year.
However, the Super League club had to concede to a 0-0 draw after both sides failed to find the back of the net throughout the game. FELDA failed the emulate their winning strategy they employed against Pahang last week.
“I don’t blame the players. I think everyone tried their best, but we were just unlucky.” FELDA’s head coach B.Sathianathan told BHarian.
“We had a few good chances, but we couldn’t get past Kuala Lumpur’s defence. They defended really well.” he added.
The head coach also noted that they made a grave mistake by not starting their star midfielder, Zah Rahan, as they initially thought he was ineligible to play for this match.
“We thought he was not allowed to play after the red card he received last week. It was only later that we found out that he could play, which is why he brought him on quite late, in the second half.”
FELDA are currently tied 1 point with Kuala Lumpur in Group B, just behind Perak that is comfortably leading after defeating PKNS 2-0.
Kuala Lumpur, although in third place, are happy to have secured one crucial point from the match.
“FELDA were dominating the game, but we also pressured them a lot and it was a good balance of play from both sides. The only problem was that we couldn’t convert most of our chances.” Kuala Lumpur’s head coach Fabio Joaquim Maciel Da Silva said.
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