Penang ended their 2019 season with an elimination from the Malaysia Cup tournament after a home 0-2 defeat against Pahang sealed their fate. But we has been a positive season for them having started the season on a mix fortunes amid financial difficulties that still beleaguered the team.
Ahmad Yusof Tinkering & FAP Problem
The pre-season again show so much positive with Ahmad Yusof side having some good friendly results even against Super League side. But his selection of players did not goes down well with the fans who see the problems lies with the FAP low salary budget for the season that they could not attract better players. Still, they have to get on and get the job done. Meanwhile, a little bit of confusion where Kamal Khalid were appointed as Technical Director as well as Assistant Coach to Ahmad Yusof had the fans wondering a weird structure.
The season started with a defeat against Terengganu FC II at home with the heavy blame fell to goalkeeper Syamin Othman erratic performance although the team play were excellent.
However, that did not stop Ahmad Yusof from getting the criticism and he starts tinkering with his formation and line up in the next few matches and results were up and down with more erratic performances both home and away. And it was not a surprise when he was removed as Head Coach in March and Kamal Khalid was assigned as caretaker coach. He too didn’t fare any better.
Manzoor & The ABC Trio
With half way through to the first round of the league campaign and already out of the FA Cup in the 3rd Round after losing to Kuala Lumpur at home, the FAP were on the lookout for new Head Coach to take over from Kamal Khalid for the rest of the season.
Then, in mid-April they appointed Manzoor Azwira who was earlier the Perlis Head Coach but were thrown out from the league after a disastrous financial trouble besieged the team.
His reign did not start well as they fell to a home 0-2 defeat against JDT II and 2-1 defeat away to Kelantan in the last two matches in the first round of the Premier League. The ride then started to swing to the Panthers side in the second round which include an emphatic 4-1 win over Kelantan at home and 2-0 victory against JDT II at Pasir Gudang en route to their unbeaten streak in the second round and culminated in a dramatic fight back to finish in a position to make it to the Super League next season before a six point deduction as per FIFA instruction due to their financial problems in the past.
The talk of the second round ruthless streak were the ABC trio of Aguero, Bottaro and Casagrande attacking that got opponents fall back. Aguero were signed from Selangor United to replace Sebastien Thuriere while Anselmo Casagrande were sign on loan from Melaka United to replace Ndumba Makeche in the mid season transfer window.
The ABC trio contributed a total of 18 goals between them with the biggest win of the season came in the home match against Sarawak which Penang won 6-3. The biggest problem with the team throughout the season was the leaky defence in which the FAP were urged to sign a foreign defender but having languishing in the bottom of the league at the end of the first round, it’s the goals they need to haul themselves out from the relegation zone and it was justified with the ABC trio.
Malaysia Cup & Future Plan
With the news of FIFA docking Penang 6 points in the league thus missing out on the Super League promotion, the consolation for the Panthers is that they make the cut for the prestigious Malaysia Cup tournament after a 4 year absence.
Drawn in the tough same group with defending champions Perak and Super League runners up Pahang together with Sabah, they have played above expectations with one win, two draws and three defeats to finish third in the group missing out the last eight berth.
It it also served as part of the preparation for the next season as they hope to mount a serious title challenge in the Premier League and a spot back in Super League 2021. Manzoor Azwira did his best for Penang in a mix season for the Panthers and he was thankful for the fans support throughout.
Success & Flop
The biggest success story so far apart from the ABC trio were to be the emergence of talented youngsters such as Afif Azman and Al Hafiz Harun both shone throughout the campaign and should be given more minutes hopefully in the next season. Another promising youngster to take note is goalkeeper Hafiz Hazrull who was given the task to be the main custodian with Syamin Othman dropped after the Terengganu match.
Still with a room for improvements and with the signing of experience goalkeeper in Zamir Selamat in the mid-season transfer window should be able to guide him to the next level.
As for the flopped players, it was Syamin Othman first match in Penang colours but as the season goes by, the biggest flop has to be Afiq Azmi by far. The former Selangor and national striker were a big debate among fans who questioned the management in signing a player that did not have a team for almost two season and having an injury record as well. With only one goal to his name for the team, his performance was something even the third tier Liga M3 should be ashamed of.
Conclusion
Not a bad season after all for Penang with the low budget and they actually achieved their top 5 target set out in the pre-season and qualified for the Malaysia Cup. Now the present management must retain majority of the core players both local and foreign if possible. The FAP too must start thinking long term and not the short term planning like in the current system. Getting and attracting major sponsors are still their main task if they are to harbour big things in the long run.
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