* Hotly disputed penalty goal gives Pahang 1-0 win over Perak
* ‘We were denied a clear penalty and should have got at least a point’ – Karathu
Pahang shot to the top of the Super League after a 1-0 win over Perak at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan in the only Super League match played on Tuesday.
Argentine hitman Matias Conti scored the winner from the spot in the 72nd minute after referee Nazri Nasaruddin hauled up Perak defender Tuah Iskandar for hand ball after Nigerian striker Dickson Nwakaeme made his way into the box.
The man in the black booked Tuah not for the hand ball but for dissent when the penalty was awarded in a match which could have gone either way with both sides muffing scoring chances.
The three points saw the Elephants dislodge Police from the top with 20 points – two more than Police and Johor Darul Takzim, who are second and third with goal difference separating the two teams.
Perak could have shared the spoils but were denied a clear penalty for hands despite appeals from the Perak players in the last minutes of play. However, South Korean Namkung Woong who beat the onrushing Pahang goalkeeper Khairul Azhan Khalid to the ball only to see it come off the right post in the 89th minute.
“We are unlucky to be returning home empty handed. Perak should have won at least a point…if not three points. I am very disappointed with the result because we were denied a clear penalty,” said a Perak coach Datuk M. Karathu.
Perak, who defeated Johor Darul Takzim (at home) and Selangor 2-1 (away) in their last two matches were without their dead ball specialist Nurridzuan Abu Hassan who is under suspension for a red card offence in the match against Selangor.
“My players played very well and were unlucky to concede defeat through a penalty.”
Both Pahang and Perak needed a win to top the league and Pahang happened to be the lucky side. Perak remained in fourth place with 17 points.
For Pahang coach the win is a “morale booster” to face Kelantan at the same venue on Saturday in the first-leg FA Cup semi-final match.
SUPER LEAGUE RESULT (Tuesday, May 5)
Pahang 1 Perak 0
