Armed Forces
PETALING JAYA: Armed Forces coach B. Sathianathan is a hard man to please.
The Gladiators went top of Group A after thrashing Johor 4-1 at the Selayang Stadium on Saturday but it was not enough to satisfy Sathia.
It was Forces’ second win in the Malaysia Cup campaign and they head the group ahead of Sime Darby on a better goal difference. Both have seven points after four matches. Johor are third with five points while Selangor, the 32-time champions, have only two.
Sathia, however, was upset as his side conceded a goal. He also felt that they should have scored more goals.
“I’m not happy that we conceded a goal in this match. But I must say the players did well after a slow start,” said Sathia.
“Johor played a compact game and made it hard for us to score. This win is the perfect response from the players after collecting only four points in the last three matches.”
The former national coach could not resist taking a dig at the Johor players for “simulation” and referee Suhaizi Shukri for giving a yellow card to striker Marlon James for dissent.
“The Johor players were dropping like a sack of a potatoes during the match. Maybe it was part of their tactics to disrupt our momentum.
“Marlon told me that he just asked the referee why a free-kick was given against him. For that, he was shown a yellow card,” said Sathia.
“The local referees lack communication skills. They need to understand how a foreign player speaks. The foreign players might be loud and talkative but it’s the way they communicate on the pitch.”
The Malaysia Cup will take a break and will resume on Sept 17 due to the international break and the Merdeka Tournament.
For Sathia, he can now take a well-deserved rest as Forces need only to win one of the remaining two matches to qualify for the last eight.
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