# ‘The absence of two foreign players affected our performance’ – Elavarasan
# ‘We have to move on -‘ Elavarasan
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Selangor outfit PKNS FC are not brooding over the 1-0 defeat to Kuala Lumpur in their opening 100PLUS Premier League match at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Malacca on Friday.
Coach E. Elavarasan and his team return to their “home ground” again on Monday – this time playing away to newly promoted Malacca. Hang Jebat is also Malacca’s home ground in the M-League.
For Elavarasan and company the “show has just begun” in their quest for Premier League honours with the top two teams gaining promotion to the elite Super League. Last season PKNS FC narrowly missed promotion after finishing fourth in the 12-team league.
The defeat to KL is a bitter pill to swallow for PKNS FC and failure to get the International Transfer Certificate for new foreign signings – Palestine international Matias Jadue and Argentine hitman Juan Manuel Cobelli – was a major contributing factor to the defeat
“It affected the team to a certain extent. Both are strikers and their presence would have made things better upfront in terms of finishing,” said Elavarasan.
“We had our chances. We created chances but the finishing was not there. I believe Cobelli and Matias would have made the difference.
“It is good to win your first match, it not only boosts your confidence but also gives you the momentum to ride.”
Now Elavarasan is keeping his fingers crossed that the coming hours will bring good news and hopes the ITC for his two new signings will arrive in time for the match against Malacca.
“I was forced to leave Matias and Cobelli out of my match plans against DRB-Hicom. We lost but we accept the defeat (to DRB-Hicom) and will move on. The season has just begun and we will pick up from here,” added Elavarasan.
Meanwhile, Perlis, 6-1 winners over Armed Forces, relegated to the lower-tier Premier League, have another home match – this time against UiTM FC, who surprised Sabah with a 4-1 win.
Perlis coach Dollah Salleh has called on his players to have their feet on the ground although the big win over Armed Forces was a “fantastic start” to his tenure with the Northern Lions.
“There is nothing to shout about the 6-1 win over Armed Forces. Our opponents have problems of their own. Instead, we should now focus of our match against UiTM,” said Dollah.
“UiTM will not be an easy match…we cannot let our guard down just because we won big in the first match.”
The former national coach, however, said the win over Armed Forces is a “morale booster” for the team for the coming matches.
In other matches, giant killers DRB-Hicom, 3-1 winners over JDT II in Pasir Gudang on Friday, will be at home to Negri Sembilan who drew 1-1 with Kuantan FA in Paroi.
Kuantan FA will face Sabah in Kuantan.
The match between Sime Darby and Armed Forces will be played on Saturday.
