Jan 8, 2009
PETALING JAYA: Perak’s young guns came in for praise all around despite the 1-3 defeat by Selangor at the Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday.
The new-look side with barely any star players, unlike in the past, kept their 5,000-odd supporters captivated by their strong brand of attacking football.
Coach M. Karathu said that football was for the fans and they had to dish out entertaining fares.
“The fans want entertainment for their money. We cannot just sit back and defend all the time even though that was our task against more superior sides, including Selangor,” he said.
Perak stunned the Red Giants, taking the lead with strike from outside the box by Razali Umar Kandasamy. But they eventually lost out on strength and experience to the Selangor side, who were powered by current and former national players.
Among those in the Selangor ranks were Mohd Safee Sali, Mohd Amirulhadi Zainal, Mohd Asraruddin Putra, Mohd Hardi Jaafar, Mohd Nasriq Baharum, Rudie Ramli, R. Surendran, D. Surendran, Mohd Hamsani Ahmad, Mohd Nasri Nourdin, Mohd Amri Yahyah and Khairul Anuar Baharum.
In contrast, Perak have a young set of players with an average age of 22. They have the services of only one national player — defender and skipper S. Subramaniam. The rest are mostly reserves from last season’s squad, including Razali Umar, Megat Amir Faisal and Chun Keng Hong.
The newcomers include A. Varathan, Mohd Hafiszuan Salehuiddin, Benedict Martin, Mohd Syazwan Roslan, Mohd Nazri Kamal, Sharizal Saad, Mohd Fauzi Ariffin, K., Thinagaran and Wan Hossen Wan Abdul Ghani.
Perak started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Kuala Muda Naza last week. Their next match is against Police at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh on Saturday.
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