Perak boss Mehmet Durakovic claims that his side were unlucky to be knocked out of the FA Cup by PKNS at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh, last weekend.
Having lost the first leg 1-2 two weeks back, the Bos Gaurus were left with a daunting task of staging a comeback in front of their fans in Ipoh. A full house of over 30,000 people packed into the stadium but Perak could only draw 2-2 with PKNS to lose the tie 3-4 on aggregate.
“We dominated the game and we had plenty of chances to score, especially through free-kicks and corner-kicks. If these opportunities went in, the outcome of the game would have been different.
“It’s obviously difficult to digest this result, but the willpower showed by my players, especially in the second half, is something worth praising and being happy about,” Durakovic told Berita Harian.
PKNS broke the deadlock through Rodney Celvin on the 54th minute, before K. Gurusamy made it 2-0 from the spot, after Kenny Palraj brought down Faris Ramli inside his own box. Perak issued a response on the 73rd minute through skipper Nasir Basharuddin, before the midfielder bagged another goal on the 83rd minute to set up a frantic end to the match.
However, PKNS held their nerves and secured a 2-2 draw which effectively booked their spot in the semis. Datuk K. Rajagobal’s men will face Selangor in the last four, while Pahang will go up against PKNP FC in the other semi-final tie.
