Kogi out to overturn Turtles after August heartbreak

PETALING JAYA: They say lightning doesn’t strike twice and Petaling Jaya (PJ) City striker M. Kogileswaran Raj is hoping for this adage to come true for him in the Malaysia Cup.

PJ City take on Terengganu in the first round at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak tonight.

Kogileswaran still remembers the team’s painful 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Turtles in a Super League match on Aug 22.

It was their first match since the resumption of the Covid-19 enforced break.

Since that defeat, the club side only suffered one more loss – a 2-1 defeat to Kedah – in their remaining seven Super League matches which included three draws and two wins.

Kogileswaran, nicknamed Kogi, vows to step up after letting the team down in their previous encounter.

“I still remember that defeat to Terengganu. I could not make much of an impact in that game, so this time I want to do more by scoring, ” said Kogileswaran.

“We are more confident following our wins towards the tailend of our league campaign. It should stand us in good stead for the Malaysia Cup challenge.”

The former national Under-23 player said the knockout format makes the Cup more interesting and would be out to cut down on silly errors.

“Errors can be costly and the game plan is to get the early goal and then defend. Every game will be very cagey but I think we have prepared well for the Malaysia Cup, ” said the 22-year-old.

He said Terengganu’s crafty midfielders – skipper Lee Tuck and Sanjar Shaakhmedov and forwards Dominique Da Sylva, Faris Ramli would be their main threats.

“Da Sylva is a good striker while Sanjar, Tuck and Faris can also score goals. We’ll be wary of these players.”