Technical review: vs Kelantan PQPTRW (Liga Super 2016)

MALAYSIA SUPER LEAGUE 2016: LS3 Kelantan vs Sarawak, 26 February 2016
A much improved performance by the team this time around. Some tweaks and reinforcement come Tuesday will improve this team a lot.

Preparation:
K Rajagobal has been saying that Sarawak prepared for the worst weather condition and the weather was a bonus to the visiting team, providing them smoother ground passes on the Stadium Sultan Mohd IV (SSMIV) pitch.

How we lined-up:
Iqbal Suhaimi (GK) – Ramesh Lai Ban Huat, Mohd Riduwan Ma’on, Hairol Mokhtar, Davide Grassi – Ronny Harun (Rodney Calvin Akwensivie 90’), Júnior Aparecido Guimaro de Souza, Gurusamy Govandar Kandasamy, Ashri Chuchu (Partiban Janasekaran 64’), Makeche Ndumba, Gilmar Jose da Silva Filho.
A compact shaped 4-1-2-3-1 deploying a deep lying defensive midfielder.

How the opponent lined-up:
Khairul Fahmi Che Mat (GK) – Nik Shahrul Azim Ab Halim, Mohd Noor Hazrul Mohd Mustafa, Jonathan David McKain, Mohamad Muslim Ahmad – Mohd Badhri Mohd Radzi, Jonatan Lucca, Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor (Mohd Faizal Abu Bakar 84’), Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria (Indra Putra Mahayuddin 60’) – Dramane Traoré (Brendan Gan Seng Ling 56’), Baže Ilijoski
A compact & conservative 4-4-2 attacks mostly on the flanks.

How we perform?:
More fluidity in the passing was detected this time around but there are plenty of room for improvements. The rain had helped soften up the hard pitch at SSMIV.
Pro: Gilmar did well as a target-man, holding the balls and winning free-kicks. Makeche looks much more comfortable playing behind the target-man. Juninho passes improved today. It is hard to penetrate the midfield area with Ronny stop-plugging the midfield.
Con: Riduwan could not withstand the attack from left, and Ashri was too quiet eventhough he did make the needed connection between the midfield and strikers. Left area of the Sarawak team is still an issue

How was the game? (Statistics)
Refer play by play posting here.

How the players fared?:
Starting Players
Iqbal Suhaimi – 6 – Had a quiet game, though he had to collect the ball from the back of the net twice.
Davide Grassi – 6 – A mixed game. Assisting the first goal, but misread the second goal. Overall, was solid throughout the game with some important interception.
Hairol Mokhtar – 6 – Was quite solid today despite him just returning from an injury. Made some important interception and clearance.
Ramesh Lai – 7 – Solid display. Did well covering the left flanks and reduced attacking chances from that side.
Riduwan Maon – 6.5 – A mixed performance by him today. Made some important interceptions and blocks, but could not withheld quite a number of attacks from the left.
K Gurusamy – 7 – A very important figure in the team today. Intercepted quite a number of opponent attacking chances, and bosses the midfield, making the central midfield area hard to penetrate.
Juninho Aperacido – 6 – Worked hard in the midfield. Saw some improvements in his passes. Could do better.
Ronny Harun – 6.5 – For once, we find him playing in a much suitable position with Rajagopal’s tactic. Ronny prefers direct & long pass forward and with him in the midfield, he has helped by intercepting passes, win headers and become a start point of attack. Needs to familiarize himself more to this position. Provides cover to the back two, virtually playing 3 defenders during attack.
Ashri Chuchu – 5 – Was a bit below par but improved a little if compared to his previous games. Need to work hard to earn his spot.
Ndumba Makeche – 7 – Delivers us the end product we crave. More to come from this lad.
Gilmar Filho – 7 – Even though seen as ineffective to some, he was actually playing according to plan and was very effective. Won us quite a number of fouls today, providing us numerous set-piece opportunities. His charge to that equalizing goal was key of the game. His goals will come. We have faith in him.

Substitution:
J Partiban – 6 – Came in with plenty of energy. Made one shot on target, and one off target. Other than that, he was seen chasing shadows. Need to improve his positioning especially on the break.
Rodney Celvin – 5 – Came in to give extra support in defence. Aggression was important to delay the game and hold on to the draw.

Conclusion:
Playing away and getting that precious one point is important for our 2016 season survival.
Tactically, Kelantan looks very uncomfortable playing in the rain. Conceding too many free-kicks in the favour of Sarawak was their downfall. Muslim Ahmad was the culprit in the Kelantan defence giving Sarawak the chance to equalize.
For Sarawak, our scoring forwards is the start of good news. This will help to boost up the morale for the next game in Selayang, this Tuesday.
Sarawak will be playing another tough test against Selangor this Tuesday in which the odds favour the home side.