Improving PKNS keep coach smiling

PKNS FC coach Wan Jamak Wan Hassan is one happy man after the Selangor club advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals with a sweet 2-1 win over Terengganu in a second round match played at the Selayang Stadium on Tuesday.

It was PKNS’ fourth victory on the trot in all competitions after the 2-1 defeat to the same team in their opening league match in Kuala Terengganu on Jan 18. PKNS won their next two league encounters – against Armed Forces (1-0) and Kelantan (2-1).

In between they won the first round FA Cup match against a strong Darul Takzim II (3-2) and Tuesday night’s win over the Turtles are early signals Wan Jamak’s team are getting into stride.

And the former national coach believes his charges can only get better if PKNS’ two foreign players – Liberian striker Patrick Wleh and Croatian forward Karlo Primorac – can hit the kind of form that made them two of the most feared goal poachers in M-League in previous seasons.

Wleh and Primorac scored a goal each in Tuesday’s win, a result which pits them against Kelantan in the two-legged quarterfinals.

It was Wleh’s second in the competition, having scored one against Darul Takzim II. He also netted PKNS’ winning goal against Forces in the league.

For Primorac, his first goal this season could not have come at a better time, as PKNS prepare for the league match against Sarawak, who knocked Selangor out with a 1-0 win at the Petaling Jaya Stadium in an afternoon match.

The Croatian who played for Sime Darby last season, scored 28 goals for the plantation giants while Wleh hit 23 in his first season with the club.

“They (Wleh and Primorac) are the ‘diamonds’ in the team who are slowly getting the shine back. It’s a welcome sign for the team and the management have high hopes on them,” Wan Jamak told sports247.my.

Wan Jamak however, is not too thrilled with the situation his players find themselves in.

“The M-League is very demanding and I fear my players picking up injuries. It’s the same for other teams. Some of the fields are not conducive to good football,” expressed the seasoned coach.

With the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil and the Shah Alam Stadium closed for renovations and upgrading, there is a lack of playing fields and training grounds in Klang Valley.

So much so that PKNS were forced to travel to Lumut to play the Darul Takzim match at the TLDM Stadium.

The lack of training fields also came in for questioning by Sarawak coach Robert Alberts.

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