BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Perak head coach Mehmet Durakovic remained positive, although his charges could only muster a 1-1 away draw against Selangor in their round 16 Malaysia Super League match on Tuesday.
In the match that was held at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium on Tuesday, the visitors dominated the middle of the park in the first half, forcing the hosts into sending long balls up front. The Bos Gaurus' midfield supremacy helped them take the lead, when Selangor centre back Alfonso de la Cruz inadvertently stabbed Nor Hakim Hassan's cross from the left into his own net in the 42nd minute.
But several changes took place in midfield in the second half, first with Perak midfielder Khairil Anuar Zamri taken off the game in the 63rd minute for an injury. Nazliazmi then brought on Syahmi Safari for Evan Dimas Darmono, and substituted off forward Kugan Dhevarajan for midfielder Halim Zainal. The changes allowed the hosts to gain the momentum, resulting in Amri Yahyah's equaliser from a free kick in the 81st minute.
Selangor vs Perak match highlights
After the match, Perak remained in second place, but will go 13 points behind leaders JDT if the Southern Tigers beat Terengganu on Wednesday. For Selangor, their fourth consecutive undefeated match was not enough for them to avoid dropping down one spot to the ninth place.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Durakovic remarked that his charges played well in a tough match.
"I think my players did a fantastic job, they defended well, created so many chances, but they made one small mistake and it cost us a couple of points.
"My players' performance was very good considering that we were missing four, five senior players. It's not easy playing away to Selangor, they've got very quick young boys. In overall I'm very happy with our performance, despite the equalising goal we conceded," said the Australian.
When asked whether they are still in the chase for the MSL title despite the considerable gap with JDT, the former Selangor player and coach said:
"Absolutely, absolutely. It isn't over until the last game."