LUCKY RED GIANTS
Selangor leave it late to earn a point against food-poisoning hit UiTM
WHAT a joke! Many expected Selangor to bounce back under caretaker coach Michael Feichtenbeiner following a spate of poor results by beating UiTM FC on Saturday.
Instead, the Red Giants were lucky to avoid a defeat by equalising five minutes into stoppage time in the 3-3 draw against the university boys, who were hit by food poisoning, in Shah Alam.
Selangor took a 2-0 lead at half-time through Ifedayo Omosuyi (24th minute) and Sandro Mendonca (45th).
However, Gustavo dos Santos (48th and 58th) and Rabih Ataya (62nd) handed UiTM a 3-2 lead before Ifedayo saved Selangor’s blushes by converting from the penalty spot in stoppage time.
Feichtenbeiner was annoyed with the media at the UiTM Stadium when asked about Selangor’s chances in their remaining matches.
Despite the embarrassing draw, Feichtenbeiner, also the Selangor FA technical director, said his team performed better than in previous matches under former coach B. Satiananthan.
“Why should we not be confident? We created chances and scored three goals today (Saturday).
“Offensively, we did much better. In the second half, we did not do well in defending our goal. However, we will work on it.
“I am confident we can win our remaining matches.”
The German coach said he is working on solutions to strengthen Selangor’s defence, which has conceded 18 goals after nine matches.
“Yes, we conceded many goals today. We were excellent in the first half, but we lost focus after the breather.”
Selangor are eighth in the standings with 11 points while UiTM are fourth on 14.
UiTM coach Frank Bernhardt said 10 of his players were down with food poisoning before the match.
“Some were in the hospital to seek treatment. Two of the 10 were supposed to start in the match.
“We were not really in the game before the breather, but things got better in the second half. I think we were unlucky not to win the match.”