Birthday boy Subramaniam has only one thing on his mind

KUALA LUMPUR: MISC-MIFA skipper S. Subramaniam turns 33 today – which is Malaysia’s national day.

And his birthday wish is to beat Kelantan in a Malaysia Cup Group C match at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru today to seal a place in the quarter-finals.

MISC-MIFA lead the standings with seven points from four matches, with two more matches to play.

Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) are second in the group with six points, Kedah (five points) and Kelantan (four points).

The vastly experienced Subramaniam, who has been playing in the Malaysia League since 2004, hopes to steer the team to success.

“I’m playing for MISC-MIFA for the first time in the league and it’ll be nice to beat Kelantan to qualify for the quarter-finals,” said centreback Subramaniam.

“I know the strengths and weaknesses of Kelantan quite well as I’ve played five seasons with them.

“They’ve young players who are hungry for success and always play well at home. Our challenge is to beat them in their own backyard,” added Subramaniam, who won trophies with Kelantan, JDT and Selangor.

Subramaniam helped Kelantan win the Malaysia Cup in 2010 and the Super League title in 2011.

He was part of the treble winners when Kelantan lifted the Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup in 2012.

Subramaniam admitted it would be tricky to play without the services of two key foreign strikers – L’lmam Syedi of Senegal and Kpah Sherman of Liberia.

“Syedi is on loan from Kelantan and he can’t play against them tomorrow while Sherman faces a one-match suspension for his red card against Kedah last Sunday.

“I hope the other strikers will rise to the occasion to collect full points,” said Subramaniam.

MISC-MIFA beat Kelantan 2-0 at home three weeks ago.