It’s crazy how fast things change.
Just one week ago, Perak were third on the league table. Two matches later, they are now eighth. And judging by this week’s fixture, things aren’t likely to get easier either as they prepare to take on Terengganu away from home, on Wednesday night.
Malaysian football has always been a case of volatility and it’s evident in Perak’s fortunes this season. They had a terrific start to the season, before going on a minor slump. But things changed soon afterwards, as they started winning games regularly, which eventually pushed them to third spot on the table.
In fact, they were pretty comfortable there, until the festive season in July. Just before the league went on an extended break, Perak suffered a demoralizing defeat at the hands of LionsXII, and since then, they’ve suffered three other losses – all of them in a row. First, a 1-0 defeat to Kelantan, before falling 3-2 against PDRM in Shah Alam and finally a 2-0 home defeat against Felda United last weekend.
But the positive thing is that, Perak are still pretty much within the vicinity of third spot, as only two points separates them and third-placed Selangor, who are currently on 29 points. But four other teams are also in the mix, including their next opponents Terengganu.
The absence of Paulo Rangel seemed to initially take a toll on them, but it now appears that the squad has been rejuvenated by a series of impressive performances. They’ve won all three matches since the festive break ended earlier this month, beating ATM 5-1, LionsXII 4-2 and Kelantan 2-1 last weekend. That also means that the Turtles have scored a total of 11 goals in three matches – completely without any assistance from their star signing of the season, Paulo Rangel.
That is more than enough to place them as favourites ahead of their clash against Perak. Battles between both sides have always been close, but judging by form, one wouldn’t be regarded as being delusional for expecting Terengganu to run rampant on Wednesday night. Besides, they are playing on home.
So the onus will be on Perak. Four defeats in a row has demoralized the squad massively, and the Seladangs themselves have opted to ‘rest’ Datuk M. Karathu, meaning that Abu Bakar Fadzim will most likely lead the team against Terengganu. They will be keen on pushing for third place but whether or not they do it, will depend on how they perform against Terengganu on Wednesday night.
Other posts by Keeshaanan Sundaresan
