Paying the penalty: Sherman picked up two yellow cards in the competition.
PETALING JAYA: The Elephants have suffered a huge blow up front as Liberian hitman Kpah Sherman will miss the Malaysia Cup final against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on April 12.
The 33-year-old had picked up two yellow cards in the competition, costing him an appearance in the final despite Pahang’s appeal to overturn the ban.
Pahang coach Fandi Ahmad said he now has to prepare for the final without Sherman and faces a tough task of testing out other players who can fill in for the key striker.
“We’re trying out a lot of players to see if they can fill Kpah’s shoes. We also hope these players don’t get injured during the remaining league matches before the Malaysia Cup final,’’ he said.
“We will also look at new combinations but we have to make sure these changes don’t disrupt the team’s rhythm.
‘’Like in the league game against Terengganu on Thursday, we made three changes but it didn’t work in our favour as we lost badly.’’
Pahang were hammered 5-1 by Terengganu in their own backyard, raising alarm bells among some fans who feel the team may not be ready to take on JDT in the Malaysia Cup final.
Pahang have three more league games - against Kuching City (March 4), Police (March 8) and Kedah (April 6).
Fandi has urged his players to bounce back quickly from the heavy loss to the Turtles.
“We made a lot of mistakes in the game against Terengganu, missed many chances and were punished on the counter due to our poor defending.
‘’But credit to Terengganu as they played their best game against us. We must learn from this and move forward.”
Pahang are 11th in the league with 17 points from 19 games.
