Nothing has gone right for Melaka since the time they unceremoniously dumped their head coach Mat Zan Aris – the man who took them to glory and place in the elite Super League.
Mat Zan was the man who won them the FAM Cup and earned promotion to the second-tier Premier League. And Mat Zan, a household name in the country during his international days was the man who won the Premier League.
But he was deemed “not good enough” to handle the team for it Super League campaign. The Melaka management hired an English man named Eric Williams who lasted just six months as Melaka struggled in their new found status.
In came Portuguese Eduardo Almeida who can thank his lucky stars that Melaka are still in the running in the prestigious Malaysia Cup – with a big dose of help from defending champions Kedah who beat Kelantan 2-0 in their final group match.
Kedah’s win over Kelantan in Alor Setar paved the way for Melaka’s entry into the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals as Group C runners-up on a night Melaka got a 5-3 hammering at the hands of Premier League outfit UiTM FC at the UiTM FC Stadium in Shah Alam.
Now Melaka are counting on homeground advantage at the Hang Jebat Stadium and also counting on an upset win over four-time Malaysia Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim in the first-leg quarter-final on Friday.
Melaka’s confidence apparently stems of the “encouraging” 1-1 draw in a league match which came in the wake of a 7-0 hammering at the hands of the Southern Tigers at the Larkin Stadium – the home of the Southern Tigers.
Even if Melaka do manage to pull off an upset in the first-leg the Johor outfit will be at home in the return-leg on Sept 24. For the record mighty JDT have a proud unbeaten home record since the 2-1 defeat to Felda United on Nov 28, 2015.
Almeida, must remember that he has no depth on the bench like his JDT counterpart Ulisses Morais, who is also a Portuguese.
It will be interesting to see which Portuguese will triumph at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
The other Malaysia Cup biggie is at Shah Alam Stadium where 33-time champions Selangor will cross paths with champions Kedah in the first-leg quarter-finals.
It is reported that Kedah are “ill-prepared” following the demise of the Almarhum Sultan Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah on Monday and the team was given two-days off from training.
Selangor were at the receiving end at the hands of JDT at the Larkin Stadium to decide Group D champions after both teams were tied on 10-points each. JDT won 3-1.
Surprise package Perak SEDC (PKNP) will take on Felda United at the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka in the other quarter-final match slotted for Friday.
On Saturday, Pahang will be at home to Perak at the Darulmakmur Stadium in Kuantan. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
