PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur are determined to salvage a runners-up finish in the Super League, with four matches remaining and everything still to play for.
But the City Boys must quickly regroup after their crushing 1-8 aggregate loss to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the Malaysia Cup semi-final, as they face a crucial league encounter against Kelantan at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru today.
Currently fourth in the standings with 39 points from 20 matches, KL trail second-placed Selangor by three points and are two behind third-placed Kuching City.
Even if they remain fourth, it will still be their best finish ever in the Super League but coach Risto Vidakovic has challenged his charges to end the season in second spot. KL’s previous highest finish in the Super League was sixth, in the 2021-2022 season, and also 2024-2025.
Vidakovic believes the race for second place remains open, albeit challenging. “The chance is still there, but it’s very complicated,” said the Bosnian.
“Kuching have a game in hand and are ahead of us, so it won’t be easy.
“Still, we will fight until the end. We must aim for maximum points in every match. It’s our duty to represent this club and defend the badge with pride.”
Vidakovic also called on his players to rediscover the form that saw them impress earlier in the season.
“We had a very strong first half of the campaign, but we lost some players and didn’t bring in reinforcements in January. That was disappointing for the group,” he said.
“Even so, the players have responded well. We remained competitive and stayed close to the top teams. The points difference is minimal, and we’ve achieved a record points tally in the club’s history.
“So overall, the performance has been positive. I’m proud of the players - they’ve given their maximum, and we will continue to fight for second place until the end.”
On the huge loss to JDT, Vidakovic admitted that overturning the deficit against the Southern Tigers was always a tall order, especially with a packed schedule and limited squad depth.
“We lost 4-0 in the first leg, so it was always going to be very difficult to turn things around,’’ he said.
“With another important match coming up today, we had to manage the squad carefully. We don’t have many players to rotate, so the priority was to stay fresh for the Kelantan game and avoid a heavier defeat.”
