UPHILL BATTLE AHEAD
Perak’s season takes a dip after Pinto ruled out for rest of season
REPORTS BY DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my
AS if things could not get any worse, Perak’s campaign is on the verge of ending in a whimper after losing playmaker Yashir Pinto for the rest of the season. Perak head into the second leg of the Malaysia Cup quarter-final against Pahang at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh today, needing to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a tournament which offers their only chance of winning silverware this season.
Having earlier lost midfielder Hafiz Kamal to a long-term injury, Perak coach Mehmet Durakovic will be forced to rejig his line-up in search of the two goals needed to reach the semi-finals.
Palestine international Pinto, who has scored six goals this season, underwent an operation to the Achilles’ tendon after suffering the injury 20 minutes into Perak’s 3-1 defeat to Melaka in a Super League match on Wednesday.
“It has not been a good week with Pinto injured and the team having lost two away matches,” Durakovic told Timesport yesterday.
“Pinto is a crucial player and will be very difficult to replace in the position he plays.
“We are going to play the most important game of the season and I hope whoever comes in will be able to carry on.”
Zaquan Adha Radzak, Hadi Yahaya and Nizad Ayub are among the candidates to replace Pinto while Brazilian midfielder Leandro Dos Santos returns after missing the trip to Melaka through suspension.
Perak find themselves in a hole in the quarter-finals after “five minutes of madness” late in the first half in Kuantan when they conceded three goals before Gilmar Jose Da Silva gave them a glimmer of hope with a second-half strike.
“It was just five minutes of madness which cost us three goals because otherwise we dominated the game,” said Durakovic, whose last taste of the Malaysia Cup success saw him lead Selangor to the title in 2015.
“The fact that the Pahang goalkeeper was named man-of-the-match showed that we had a lot of chances and should have scored more goals. We have to attack tomorrow for the entire 90 minutes and go for the win.”
Pahang caretaker coach Ahmad Shaharuddin Rosdi is expected to restore several key players rested for Wednesday’s 3-0 win over Sarawak in a Super League match.
Forwards Yamil Romero and Mohamadou Sumareh, winger Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria and defenders Afif Amiruddin and Matthew Davies are expected to return after being rested in midweek.
“We have a two-goal lead to protect so the players have to be prepared to face a full house in Ipoh from the start because we can expect a tough time there,” said Shaharuddin after the win over Sarawak.
Pahang are bidding to reach the final for the first time since 2014 when they won the Malaysia Cup for a fourth time while seven-time winners Perak have not been to the semi-finals since 2007, when they lost to Kedah 3-0 in the final.