PETALING JAYA: It wasn’t the return interim coach Dollah Salleh had wished for as Pahang were trampled 5-2 by Penang in the FA Cup quarter-final at the Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan.
The Elephants started off well with Colombian striker Steven Rodriguez scoring in the 11th minute. Eight minutes later, they were two up when Azwan Aripin unleashed a howitzer past goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim.
But the Panthers roared back, reducing the deficit in the 45th minute through winger T. Saravanan before they found the equaliser in the 85th minute through Lebanese striker Hilal El-Helwe.
Things went from bad to worse for the homesters when Ashar Al Aafiz Abdullah was sent off for a high challenge on Adib Abd Raop right before extra-time.
Penang capitalised on the numerical advantage and scored twice in three minutes through Lucas Espindola (96th minute) and El-Helwe (99th).
Any chance of a fightback from Pahang evaporated when Manuel Hidalgo saw red after collecting two yellow cards.
Substitute K. Thivandran completed the drubbing with a goal in the 116th minute.
Dollah, who is handling the team after Christophe Gamel was shown the exit, said the team lost focus and felt that some players were not match fit.
“In the first 40 minutes, our players were brilliant. Whatever we wanted to happen, happened. Towards the end things went awry for us,” he lamented.
“After conceding, it was like we were done for. I told the boys to hang on but it didn’t work out. Players were tired. That’s the reason why we made mistakes.
“When we were a player down, we could still compete but as I said, after the 70th minute, my players were really tired.”
Meanwhile, El-Helwe said it was a crazy game.
“To come back with five goals, it’s amazing. The first 20 minutes, I do not know what happened, it was crazy,” said the 29-year-old, who was glad that Penang are back in the semis.
The last time they made it was in 2002 and they went on to lift the Cup when they edged Perak 1-0 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
