TRIUMPH ECLIPSES BAD REFEREEING
Durakovic and Co just want to enjoy their Malaysia Cup victory
PERAK have forgiven referee (Suresh Jayaraman) for his poor decisions in Saturday’s Malaysia Cup final at Shah Alam Stadium. Mehmet Durakovic’s side bounced back from 2-0 down against Terengganu to force penalties at 3-3 after extra-time. Perak won their eighth crown 4-1 on penalties.
“We have to forgive and forget... we are humans and we make mistakes,” said Durakovic on Friday.
“We won the game, so let’s enjoy. Everyone makes mistakes, my team also made mistakes today.
“The match officials also made mistakes. At the end of the day, God is great, we won the trophy.”
The Australian has now won five Malaysia Cup medals. His earlier triumphs were with Selangor — three times (1995-97) as a player and once as a coach (2015).
“It happens in football. My boys also made mistakes but we managed to bounce back from it to win the title.
“Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy is one of the best goalkeepers in the country and he did well today.
“My defenders Shahrul Saad (captain), Nazirul Naim Che Hashim, Idris Ahmad and Amirul Azhan Aznan are young and despite this, they did brilliantly this year.
“These guys were in a different class in the second half.
Defensive errors saw Terengganu taking a 2-0 lead at half-time through captain Tchetche Kipre before Perak staged a grand fight back in the second half.
Each team had a player sent off while Perak were controversially denied two goals (from Leandro Dos Santos and Gilmar Filho) for offside.
“I must honour my goalkeeper (Hafizul). He was in tears when he came into the dressing room at half-time.
“He felt he had let the team down with his mistake that led to Terengganu’s second goal.
“We accepted the fact that he made a mistake and this drove us to try harder,” said the 53-yearold.
Asked whether he will remain at Perak next season, Durakovic, who has been linked to Selangor, did not want to comment in detail about it.
“I want to enjoy tonight’s win with my family. Credit to the players for a job well done,” said Durakovic.
The coach did not return to Perak with his teammates to celebrate the victory in Ipoh yesterday.
“I may return to Ipoh on Tuesday. For now, I want to celebrate with my family members who came all the way from Australia to watch the final,” he added.
Perak midfielder Brendan Gan, who netted the equaliser in the final minute to make it 2-2 after 90 minutes, was named the best player in the final.
“I used my left foot and struck the ball, and to my surprise, I scored the equaliser. I rarely use my left foot in matches.
“I will cherish this goal forever. It was a great feeling to score in the final minute. I had injuries last season that kept me out... it is great to win my first trophy,” said Brendan.