PETALING JAYA: Felda United coach B. Sathianathan admitted that his side were made to slog as they ended their Premier League season as champions.
The Fighters wrapped up their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Penang at the State Stadium on Friday. Jasazrin Jamaludin put Penang ahead (11th minute) but Gilberto Fortunato (75th) levelled for Felda.
Sathia’s men had sealed the title on July 17 with two matches remaining with a 3-1 win over Sarawak.
With the draw against Penang, Felda finished with 43 points from 20 matches. Both Felda and second-placed Felcra (34 points) won promotion to the Super League.
Terengganu II, who finished 11th with 17 points, were relegated to the third-tier FAM Cup along with the demoted Kuantan FA.
Sathia said his side learned the hard way after they were relegated to the Premier League for the 2018 season for failing to meet the licensing requirements for the Super League last December.
“It wasn’t easy for us to win the Premier League, everyone wanted to beat us and played their best against us. It was a tough lesson for us and we conceded too many goals,” said Sathia yesterday.
“Some players took our opponents lightly and did not produce their best. They were over confident and a few times we came close to paying the price but we managed to have a good season and achieved our target of winning the league and promotion.”
Felda will now shift their focus to the Malaysia Cup which starts on Aug 4. They will be accompanied by Felcra, third-placed MISC-MIFA, fourth-placed Johor Darul Ta’zim II and Police.
Sathia said the Malaysia Cup is an elite competition and warned his players not to be complacent.
“We’re going to play top sides like Super League champions JDT, Pahang and Perak. We need to stay disciplined,” said the former national team coach.
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