Short-lived joy: Pahang’s Sean Selvaraj celebrating his goal against Selangor in the Malaysia Cup round of 16 first-leg match.— Pahang FC
PETALING JAYA: Pahang winger Sean Selvaraj’s hard work in training earned him a starting berth against Selangor in the Malaysia Cup round of 16 first-leg game at the Temerloh Stadium last week.
And the 28-year-old repaid the faith shown by the Elephants’ coaching staff, led by Fandi Ahmad, by scoring a goal in the 27th minute.
Sean, however, was left wishing that his strike had been the winning goal as Pahang were held 1-1. To make up for his disappoint ment, his performance received glowing reviews from many as they hailed his impressive display on the flanks despite playing on a field that was heavy and damp.
“It wasn’t easy playing under such conditions, it was horrible. But it felt really good to score in such a situation. I take this as a motivation for me to score more goals,” said the former Selangor and Negri Sembilan player.
“I’m hungry for more goals as this is the Malaysia Cup. I worked hard to earn the chance to play and I repaid the coaches’ faith in me with a goal.
“With the pressure we were under, we should have finished the game 1-0 but now it is back to square one. I want to make a bigger impact and get the team to the quarter-finals.”
A pleased Fandi said Sean is forming a good combination with the other attackers - Liberian striker Kpah Sherman and playmaker Sergio Aguero.
“I’ve given Sean plenty of opportunities and wanted to place him in the starting line-up because he has stood out during training,” said the Singaporean football legend.
“Pairing him with Kpah (Sherman) and Sergio (Aguero) seems to have improved their game.”
The second leg will be held at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Dec 1.
