Sathianathan wants to plughole in Giants’ backline

PETALING JAYA: Selangor coach B. Sathianathan wants a shut-out when his men take on Kedah in their Super League clash at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight.

The Red Giants have the fourth worst goals-conceded record in the league after leaking in 20 goals and have only managed one clean sheet from 12 matches.

Sathianathan admitted that his players need to defend from front to reduce the pressure on the backline.

He added that his midfielders – Syazwan Zainon, Syahmi Safari, Abdul Halim Saari and K. Sarkunan – need to act as backups for the defenders.

“I don’t want the team to concede anymore goals. We have let in far too many goals. I want the players to take the responsibility to help out the defence,” said the former national team coach.

“I need our midfielders and wingers to back up the defence ... they have to contribute more during matches defensively. Eighty per cent of the goals we conceded came through our opponent’s counter attacks and this needs to be fixed.”

The Klang Valley outfit are fourth in the 12-team standings with 18 points while their opponents Kedah are third with 19 points.

The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in their first clash on April 26 at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar.

Sathianathan has picked Kedah’s skipper Baddrol Bakhtiar and strikers Jonathan Bauman and Fernando Rodriguez as the players to watch in the match.

He also added that his men should not just rely on new signing – Nigerian striker Ifedayo Olusegun – to get the goals.

“Kedah’s foreign strikers are among the best in the country at the moment with their combination play and Baddrol is another player of theirs who can inflict damage if left unchecked,” said the 60-yearold coach.

“Sean (Selvaraj) is not available for this match due to suspension but we have Ifedayo on board. However we can’t expect only Ifedayo to score ... I want all the players to take their chances by netting a goal or two.”