PETALING JAYA: Armed Forces coach B. Sathianathan slammed his players after they laboured to hold Selangor to a 1-1 draw in their Super League match at the Selayang Stadium on Saturday.
Selangor’s Paulo Rangel scored his seventh league goal in the third minute only to have Forces reply through Argentinian Juan Arostegui in the 45th minute to share the points.
The Gladiators dominated the match but the absence of their talismanic striker Marlon James left them struggling to find a focal point for their attacks.
Forces now place eight in the 12-team league with eight points, while Selangor, who have a game in hand, are seventh with 10 points.
An incensed Sathia said the hard-earned draw showed his players’ fighting spirit but they obviously need to do better.
“We were dominating but the problem is we were giving away silly free-kicks, throw-ins, and corner kicks and they became dangerous from that,” said Sathia after the match.
“We scored from a pass but after that the players were passing diagonally, which led to Selangor winning the ball ... the players were not smart.
“We were coming back after a 4-1 defeat to Pahang, and the players were under pressure so it’s normal for them to make mistakes,” he said.
Selangor coach Mehmet Durakovic felt that his side were unlucky not to return with the full points after Afiq Azmi’s penalty claim was waved away by referee Mohd Zamzaidi Katimin in the 83rd minute.
“We should have won the match easily. We created a lot of chances, had a penalty waved off ... it was our game,” said Durakovic.
“We had to make some changes to the line-up because the players were tired after playing in the AFC Cup in Maldives.
“Everyone gave 100% and I’m very happy with the players’ performance. We should have won the full points ... you have to make your own judgment on the referee’s decision,” he added.
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