Prabakaran’s blunder has spurred him to do better against Perak
PETALING JAYA: A match to forget but one that will galvanise Petaling Jaya City’s K. Prabakaran.
Playing against his former club Selangor on Sunday, PJ City were closing in on a point.
As fate would have it, a cross from Selangor’s Ifedayo Olusegun was inadvertently deflected into goal by Prabakaran, and they lost 2-1.
Social media was abuzz with Selangor fans “thanking” the 29-year-old centreback for scoring the winner.
Unwittingly, the comments have not only spurred Prabakaran to make amends but to show what PJ City are really about when they take on Perak at the Petaling Jaya Stadium tonight.
“From my point of view, the so-called title contenders (Selangor) were struggling against us the entire match. Only in the last few minutes, they got lucky,” said Prabakaran, who played for the Red Giants from 2018 to 2020.
“The fans and team celebrated as though they’ve won the title.
“In a sense, it made us proud because we’re equal competition to them.”
But right now, Prabakaran is wary of the wounded Seladang.
“I think Perak are undergoing their worst season. Although they are struggling, you can never underestimate them.
“They still have players who could turn the game around.
“On our part, we must not lose concentration like we did against Selangor, especially in the final minutes.
“We believe we can bounce back and grab full points.”
PJ City are currently sixth with 14 points and Prabakaran said they are on track for a top-five finish.
“No one gave us a ghost of a chance when we announced an all-local squad.
“But we have proved that not only we can compete but we can also beat teams with top foreigners in their squad.”