How did I end up here?

[binny]

The end of the season allowed everyone to go off on holiday, and just refocus for the task in hand next season. We failed to register a win in any of our last ten games of the season, and coupled with some inconsistent results throughout the first part of the season, it was clear to see why we failed to win promotion.

The squad is, and will continue, to go through a major reshaping during the close season as I try to find a balance and the quality necessary to take us that next step, and make the jump up to the Super League.

One player who will be featuring is Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan. He’s had a fantastic first season for the club, being the only player who seemed to know where the goal was. It was no surprise that the fans voted him as their player of the season.

It was also no surprise to see him named in the Malaysian squad for their end of season games against Yemen and Oman. He wasn’t named in the starting line-up for either match, but he did come on in both, and acquitted himself well. Malaysia though were not that great though in either game; going down 1-0 to Yemen, and being held 0-0 by Oman.

[binny]

Close season 2005/06

There’s quite a long time between the end of one football season and the start of the next in Malaysia, and the three months before the turn of the year allowed me to take stock of who was at my disposal in the squad, and who I wanted to bring in. I aimed to get my squad together by the start of 2006, and get the side gelled together in time for mid-February when the season gets under way again.

Two players were released from the club, and neither of them featured much season anyway. Left-back Azralan Azmi was off to Kedah for £2000, whilst Perak paid £3000 for the services of Krishnan Kumaran.

One area of the squad that I wasn’t happy with was the defence; in particular the left back and central defence positions. So, in came centre-back Mohd Fadly Kassim from Sarawak and Zulhissyam Jamaludin, an attacking full back, joined from Penang. What was even better was that I didn’t pay their former clubs anything up front, although there may well be payments depending on how things pan out.

Selangor PB allowed goalkeeper Mark Damun Sagar to come for a free transfer, and at last I have someone to challenge Muniandy Chandran for the number 1 jersey.

Left midfield was a little short in depth, especially with Rizal Sukiman retiring. I did risk a lot in spending £10,000 for Muhammad Shukur Adan from Selangor, but I’m convinced that he can do a job for us.

And the final entrant of the close season was Argentinean forward Gustavo Fuentes. His contract at Selangor PB had run out, and with his good goalscoring record, I’m hoping that he can help to fire us into unassailable leads this season.

[binny]

Preseason 2006

We began our preseason build-up with the Friendly Cup at our ground. The semi-final was played against Afghani side Afghan United, and after Adan had given us an early lead, we needed a late strike from Leong to finally win the game for us to take us through to the final.

For the final, we had the services of another new signing; a right-winger by the name of Wong Sai Kong who cost us £1,000 from Sarawak. The final was up against Indonesian side PSDS, and after falling behind twice, goals from Fuentes and Padilha da Rocha had us level at the beak. Abdul Manan hit a third just after half time, and he also wrapped up the game late on as we ran out 4-2 winners.

I took the team for a short trip to Nepal where we played three games. A late goal from Kassim, added to an earlier strike from Abdul Manan helped us to a 2-1 victory over Mahendra Police, but we were poor in the next match, failing to score against ten-man Tribhuvan Army.

Prior to last match of the trip I completed my preseason signings with the capture of midfielder Silas for £1,000 from Brunei. Silas was born in Brazil, but also has Malaysian citizenship and so doesn’t cause us any problems from the foreigner rule. The final game of our Nepalese tour was against Friends Club, and goals from Oba, Abdul Manan and Padilha da Rocha saw us run out 3-2 victors.

Back in Malaysia, two late strikes from Abdul Manan rescued a 2-2 draw for us against Olympic Beirut, but a few days later we crashed 2-0 to Brazilian side Vila Nova (GO), who had agreed a friendly as part of the deal that took Luis Rodrigo back to his homeland.

Sri Lankan side Renown were swept away by seven goals to one. Wong Sai Kong scored two early goals, Fuentes also grabbed a brace, and there were also goals from Adan, Abdul Manan and Ng Kok Heng. The final game of the preseason was against Turkmen champions Nisa, and despite falling behind twice, goals from Fuentes and Ng Kok Heng got us a 2-2 draw.

I also managed to get rid of two of our reserve players who were going to get nowhere near the first team. Striker Mohd Nor Ismail went to Kelantan whilst right-back Mohd Faisal Desa was sent to Kelantan SKMK, both on free transfers.

It had been a good build-up to the new season, and I’m quietly confident of our chances of the topping the division this season and winning promotion.

[binny]

We had the first weekend of the season off due to the odd number of teams in the division, so we will be playing catch-up for most of the season. I’ve decided to go with a slightly more attacking formation this season, pushing a central midfielder into the holding role. Gustavo Fuentes has been earmarked for that role; but he had a suspension from last season to complete, so Rufin Oba plays today as we travel to Selangor PKNS. Wong Sai Kong had also picked up an injury in the build-up to the season, and so Rashid Mamud kept his place on the right wing.

We got off to the best start possible as with just over a minute gone Yusof headed home his first goal for the club. The confidence was clear to be seen throughout the side, but we were also helped when the home side were reduced to ten men after just 17 minutes.

Five minutes later Adan marked his debut with a goal to double our lead, and after numerous chances to extend the scoreline, Adan grabbed his second of the night in first half injury time.

Things were a bit calmer in the second half, but fifteen minutes from time Abdul Manan decided to get in on the act, and Muthu added a fifth two minutes from time to give us an opening-day rout.

The only down side from the game was a knee injury to Zulhissyam Jamaludin, and he won’t be able to feature for a fortnight.

[Excelsior]

You got Fuentes for free

IRL he won the Premier League golden boot last season (for Selangor) and is the current top scorer this season

massive coup!

[binny]

Expired contracts are a brilliant thing to exploit

The first home tie of the season was against Kelantan SKMK, and Gustavo Fuentes was free to may his debut in the holding role. Padilha da Rocha was also available again after shaking off a knock, and Bathiar Othman came in for the injured Jamaludin at left back.

We were rocked early on when Abdul Ghani Malik was sent off for two bookings after just fifteen minutes, and we had to survive a torrent of chances as we held out for 0-0 at half time.

In the second half I bought on Kassim to help sure up the defence, and despite the fewer number up front, we took one of the few opportunities to come our way as Gustavo Fuentes headed in on the hour to give us the lead on his debut.

The visitors though were still in the ascendancy, and fifteen minutes from time we were finally broken at the back. We seemed good for a draw though as the game headed for full time, but two minutes from time we failed to deal with a swirling cross, and we had lost in somewhat disappointing circumstances.

[binny]

Silas picked up a groin strain yesterday, and so Rezuan Khan will take his place in the line-up today. Abdul Ghani was also suspended for the trip to Kelantan, so in came Mohd Fadly Kassim for his first competitive start.

I’m not sure if it was 19 or 20 seconds, but either way, we took the lead very early on as Gustavo Fuentes used his instincts well to poke home a loose ball. Four minutes later Padilha da Rocha opened his account for the season and we were cruising.

Within just a few minutes though Kelantan had a goal back, and we found ourselves struggling to hold onto out lead. We did defend well though, and just before the break Kassim fired in a third following a corner.

It was just the tonic that we needed, and early in the second half Abdul Manan put the result virtually out of question as he put away our fourth. Rufin Oba might have scored a fifth late on, but he was denied by the crossbar.

Kelantan had a player sent off in the last minute of the game, but by then, it didn’t really make much difference.

[binny]

SUMMARY – February 2006

Selangor PKNS 0 (Abdullah Sani Yusof s/o 17)

Kuala Lumpur 5 (Mohd Nizaruddin Yusof 2, Muhammad Shukor Adan 22, 45, Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan 74, Gopalan Muthu 88)

Attendance: 1050

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Gustavo Fuentes 61, Abdul Ghani Malik s/o 61)

Kelantan SKMK 2 (P. Ravi 75, 88)

Attendance: 1535

Kelantan 1 (Ahmad Syiham Mohamad 8, Mohd Badhri Mohd Radzi s/o 89)

Kuala Lumpur 4 (Gustavo Fuentes 1, Marcelho Padilha da Rocha 5, Mohd Fadly Kassim 41, Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan 52)

Attendance: 5668

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st N. Sembilan 3 2 1 0 4 0 +4 7

2nd Selangor PKNS 4 2 1 1 9 10 -1 7

3rd Kuala Lumpur 3 2 0 1 10 3 +7 6

4th Selangor MK Land 4 1 3 0 5 4 +1 6

5th Kelantan SKMK 3 2 0 1 6 7 -1 6

6th Melaka 4 1 2 1 8 8 0 5

7th Terengganu 4 1 2 1 2 2 0 5

8th Kelantan 4 0 1 3 7 14 -7 1

9th Selangor MPSJ 3 0 0 3 0 3 -3 0

</pre>

[binny]

In the build up to our home tie with Melaka, the squad was cut once more as I allowed R. Sunder Selver to leave on a free transfer. He’s gone to Kelantan where he is much more likely to see some first team action.

Malik was back in the starting line-up for today’s game, but he couldn’t keep up with Ndem, Melaka’s Cameroonian striker, as he ran through our defence and put the visitors ahead after just ten minutes. Wong Sai Kong was making his first appearance in a Kuala Lumpur shirt, and he looked decent down the right wing. We struggled to get back into the game during the first half, but we got to half time still just the one goal down.

We really went at Melaka in the second half, and in the first twenty minutes saw ourselves denied a number of times by some excellent goalkeeping and also the woodwork twice. We couldn’t keep up the pressure as the game wore on, and yet again we lost a home tie, albeit by the single goal.

[binny]

A trip to Terengganu was what awaited us next, and we were looking to continue our good away form.

It was a tight game from the start, although it was the home side who were creating the chances, albeit none of them really testing Sagar in goal. Our first real effort of goal came from a free kick eight minutes before half time, and a wicked deflection saw Wong Sai Kong open his goalscoring account for the club.

Terengganu did come back at us though, but it took another deflection to wrong-foot Sagar and that allowed a long shot to creep into the net as the scores were levelled up just ten minutes into the second half.

Chances were few and far between after that, even when Abdul Ghani Malik was sent off for the second time this season twenty minutes from time. A draw is a decent result given our misdemeanours, and our defender will now serve a two-match ban for his stupidity.

[binny]

We welcomed back Silas into our midfield for the home tie with Selangor MPSJ, whilst in defence, Kassim came in to replace the suspended Malik.

We were much better all over the park than our opposition, but six minutes in we failed to deal with a simple ball, and we found ourselves behind. Another free kick from Wong Sai Kong levelled things up before the half hour, but he was then sent off just before half time for lashing out at an opponent.

Yet again we found ourselves down to ten men, but we kept plugging away. The defence stood up to its task, whilst up front we continued to create chances. Twenty minutes before time we took the lead in somewhat bizarre circumstances as Padilha da Rocha back-heeled the ball into the net without really knowing what he was doing from a corner. And four minutes later Gustavo Fuentes added a third with a fierce effort from a difficult angle.

It was a wonderful goal to wrap up a really excellent performance, and I feel that we are just getting into our stride at this early stage of the season.

[binny]

Rashid Mamud would have replaced the suspended Wong Sai Kong on the right wing, but he strained his ankle ligaments in training, and won’t be able to feature for the next month or so. And so, Abdul Manan was given the right-wing role for the FA Cup first leg tie at home to Kelantan SKMK. He was only one of a handful of first-teamers who were selected, as I want to concentrate on winning the league.

Although a lot of the team were not considered first-team, they can certainly play, and a lot of them were playing regular football last season. Still, we looked a little disjointed early on, and the visitors generally had the better of a goalless first half.

It wasn’t much better in the second half, but we did seem to be improving as the game wore on. Perhaps that led to a little bit of complacency, because twenty minutes from time we were a little scrappy in defence, and we found ourselves behind.

We kept plugging away though, and two minutes from time Zaykiel Leong was fouled in the box, and Yusof equalised from the penalty spot to set up an interesting second leg next month.

[binny]

The trip to N. Sembilan was going to be important to our promotion challenge, and we were back to virtual full-strength; barring Wong Sai Kong who had been banned for an extra two games following his sending off last week.

We just never got going in the match, and were always on the back foot, especially when we fell behind to a sloppy goal after thirteen minutes. Sagar was superb in goal to keep the scores down, but we struggled to get moving up the other end of the field.

It was more of the same in the second period, and on the hour the home side struck a second. They then sat back for the remainder of the game, but we had been so poor, that we never looked like even scoring a consolation as our chances suffered a huge blow.

[binny]

SUMMARY – March 2006

Kuala Lumpur 0

Melaka 1 (Ndem 10)

Attendance: 3019

Terengganu 1 (Mohamed Sillah 56)

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Wong Sai Kong 37, Abdul Ghani Malik s/o 71)

Attendance: 4928

Kuala Lumpur 3 (Wong Sai Kong 28, Marcelho Padilha da Rocha 69, Gustavo Fuentes 73, Wong Sai Kong s/o 45)

Selangor MPSJ 1 (Ibrahim Ismail 6)

Attendance: 367

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Mohd Nizaruddin Yusof pen 89)

Kelantan SKMK 1 (Kaveepun Taveebut 69)

Attendance: 197

Malaysian FA Cup, Second Round, First Leg

N. Sembilan 2 (Efendi Abdul Malek 13, Abdul Razak Ekpoki 61)

Kuala Lumpur 0

Attendance: 5072

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Terengganu 8 4 3 1 8 3 +5 15

2nd N. Sembilan 7 4 2 1 10 2 +8 14

3rd Kelantan SKMK 7 4 0 3 8 9 -1 12

4th Kuala Lumpur 7 3 1 3 14 8 +6 10

5th Melaka 7 2 3 2 9 10 -1 9

6th Selangor PKNS 7 2 3 2 10 14 -4 9

7th Selangor MK Land 7 1 5 1 6 6 0 8

8th Selangor MPSJ 7 2 1 4 6 8 -2 7

9th Kelantan 7 0 2 5 8 19 -11 2

</pre>

[binny]

April began with a home tie against Selangor MK Land, and we needed to get back on track with a win.

We struggled to control proceedings early on, but soon we got into our stride and Padilha da Rocha fired us into the lead. We were looking comfortable after taking the lead, but ten minutes before the break we were caught on the break and we suddenly found ourselves level again.

We didn’t really get going in the second half, and twenty minutes in we conceded a second. We really should have won this game, but poor finishing late on cost us dearly, and we ended up crashing to another defeat.

[binny]

Reserve fullback Gasili Pengalot was sold to Kelantan on a free transfer ahead of our home tie with Selangor PKNS. We’re back to full strength today thanks to the return on Wong Sai Kong.

Having pushed Abdul Manan back up front, it was clear that he was in his element. Within the first minute he had pushed his way into the box and was unceremoniously pushed over. Unfortunately though, Wong Sai Kong sent the penalty straight at the goalkeeper.

We had to survive a number of swift counterattacks from the visitors, but we got the goal that we desired before the half hour thanks to a well-taken strike from Padilha da Rocha after Abdul Manan had neatly laid the ball on. And things got better in first half injury time as Abdul Manan doubled our advantage.

Four minutes into the second half though our lead was cut as the visitors’ Slovakian striker, Roman Chmelo, finally broke through our rearguard, and we struggled to hold on for a while. We did though manage to keep them at bay, and nine minutes from time Padilha da Rocha hit a third to wrap up a much-needed victory.

[binny]

The return leg of the cup-tie against Kelantan SKMK was up next for us, and with the next league game a week away; a few more first-teamers were chosen for the game.

We were under a lot of pressure in the first half as the home side pummelled our goal, but we defended excellently, and Sagar also produced a number of good saves to keep us in the game.

But having drawn 1-1 at home, we knew that we had to win today; a scoreless draw would see us lose on away goals. In the second half we started to show some good form going forward, but we lacked a real sharp edge in front of goal as we squandered chance after chance.

And just as it appeared that we would be heading out on away goals, a fierce shot deflected in off Rafael Rodrigues and we were beaten in somewhat cruel circumstances.

[binny]

Six days later we were back at Kelantan SKMK, this time on league duty. We were without the injured duo of Zulhissyam Jamaludin and Muhammad Shukor Adan, and so we had last season’s left-side playing in Othman and Ng Kok Heng.

We failed to learn the lessons of last week, and within ten minutes we found ourselves behind to a goal that we should have prevented. We slowly got back into the game, and today we did look sharper in front of goal.

Our equaliser came ten minutes before the break as Fuentes headed in a brilliant cross from Wong Sai Kong. We should have been able to get through to half time at 1-1, but within two minutes of scoring, we let the home side through again, and we had it all to do yet again.

We were by far the better side in the second half, but we just couldn’t finish off any of our many chances, and we crashed to yet another disappointing loss.

[binny]

Both Abdul Ghani Malik and Silas were suspended for today’s game at home to Kelantan. Rezuan Khan was bought into midfield, and Kassim took over at centre back.

We struggled to get into the game early on, and found ourselves on the back foot for much of the first half. As the game wore on though, we started to get forward, and by half time, the chances count were approximately level.

It took just two minutes of the second half for the first goal to arrive, and it was a real screamer from Wong Sai Kong from outside the box that struck the back of the net to give us a crucial lead.

But we found ourselves on the defensive straight after scoring, and although we rode through the initial onslaught, we were caught on the break twenty minutes from time as Kelantan equalised with another strike that left Sagar rooted to his spot.

Neither side really looked like doing anything after that, and it’s another two points dropped by us as our promotion hopes already seem to be over for the season.

[binny]

SUMMARY – April 2006

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Marcelho Padilha da Rocha 25)

Selangor MK Land 2 (Mohd Faizal Ismail 35, Aizal Lamin 65)

Attendance: 839

Kuala Lumpur 3 (Marcelho Padilha da Rocha 27, 81, Eddy Helmi Abdul Manan 45, Wong Sai Kong m/pen 2)

Selangor PKNS 1 (Roman Chmelo)

Attendance: 612

Kelantan SKMK 1 (Rafael Rodrigues (og) 90)

Kuala Lumpur 0

Attendance: 224

Malaysian FA Cup, Second Round, Second Leg

KELANTAN SKMK WIN 2-1 ON AGGREGATE

Kelantan SKMK 2 (Mustaza Maah Mustafa 10, Kaveepun Taveebut 37)

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Gustavo Fuentes 35)

Attendance: 3621

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Wong Sai Kong 47)

Kelantan 1 (Mohd Zaidi Zaing 71)

Attendance: 2980

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Terengganu 12 7 3 2 16 5 +11 24

2nd N. Sembilan 11 6 3 2 16 7 +9 21

3rd Melaka 12 5 4 3 18 15 +3 19

4th Kelantan SKMK 11 6 1 4 14 14 0 19

5th Selangor MK Land 12 3 6 3 9 11 -2 15

6th Selangor PKNS 12 4 3 5 16 21 -5 15

7th Kuala Lumpur 11 4 2 5 20 14 +6 14

8th Kelantan 12 1 5 6 13 24 -11 8

9th Selangor MPSJ 11 2 1 8 6 17 -11 7

</pre>

[binny]

We need to have a big improvement for the second half of the season, and we’re back to full strength for the trip to Melaka. Our away form has been decent this season, and hopefully we can give our campaign a kick-start today with a win.

But yet again it seems that we just cannot get a grip on a game early on, and we found ourselves on the defensive in the first half. I think we managed just one off-target effort in the first 45 minutes, and that’s just not good enough. Thankfully though the Melaka forwards were misfiring terribly today, and Sagar didn’t really have much to do to keep the score at 0-0 come half time.

It was much the same in the second half, but Fuentes did have an effort ruled out on the hour for a foul. I felt the call was a little harsh, but you can’t really argue with the referee. Ever.

Melaka were still continuing to dominate the play and the chances, but with fifteen minutes to play we got forward and the ball fell to Rezuan Khan who cracked in a great shot to give us a somewhat undeserved lead.

We should have added a second moments later, and had to survive a late onslaught from the home side. We did, and in injury time Padilha da Rocha tapped in a second to get us back in the winner’s enclosure.

[binny]

The win last week was much needed, and we now face a trip to bottom side Selangor MPSJ. We do though have two of our front men out, as both Padilha da Rocha and Fuentes picked up knocks during the week in training. In come Rufin Oba and Zaykiel Leong.

For once we did have the better of things, but we didn’t look all that clever up front, and if we had our first-choice front three, we may well have been two or three goals up at the break.

It was more of the same in the second half as we squandered chances, but there was always the chance that the home side would catch us on the break.

A treble substitution seemed to spark us for the last few minutes, and two minutes from time our persistence finally paid off as Gopalan Muthu hit what turned out to be the winner.

[binny]

We were back at home for the visit of high-flying N. Sembilan, and the last two results have given us hope that we still have a an outside chance of getting that promotion spot. We do have Padilha da Rocha back up front today, but goalkeeper Sagar strained his groin during training, and so into goal comes Chandran.

The back-to-back wins have given us a confidence that we seemed to lack earlier in the season, and we had good control over the game during the first half. The visitors did have their chances as well, but poor finishing at both ends kept the game scoreless at the break.

There was more of the same in the second half, but we were starting to turn the screw as the game wore on. We just couldn’t make anything stick though, and had to settle for a goalless draw.

[binny]

We face league leaders Terrenganu at home today, and really can’t afford to lose. The fans, and more importantly the board, are starting to get restless, and it could be my head on the line.

The players were told of the position before kick off, and in the early exchanges they responded well, but couldn’t score. Twenty minutes in though we conceded, and we just collapsed. Ten minutes later we conceded a second to a free kick, and didn’t really look like getting back into the game.

We were a little better in the second period, but the visitors were well organised at the back, and ensured that our poor season continued.

It was the final straw for the straw, and I was handed the Malaysian equivalent of a P45 and told to pack my bags.

[binny]

SUMMARY – May 2006

Melaka 0

Kuala Lumpur 2 (Rezuan Khan 75, Marcelho Padilha da Rocha 90)

Attendance: 7599

Selangor MPSJ 0

Kuala Lumpur 1 (Gopalan Muthu 89)

Attendance: 322

Kuala Lumpur 0

N. Sembilan 0

Attendance: 3160

Kuala Lumpur 0

Terrenganu 2 (Alfa Potowabawi 20, Rosli Husin 32)

Attendance: 3466

[binny]

I wasn’t quite prepared to leave South East Asia though, and I noticed that the Indonesian league had a vacancy. I immediately e-mailed through an application form, and within three days found myself behind the manager’s desk at Indonesian Premier League side Perisja.

The club had won the title on 2005, but they currently lie in 13th position, and are in a fierce relegation battle. I join the club at a good time though, as the league has just started a two-month break, and that will allow me to get to know the players a little better.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

11th Persipura 23 8 5 10 29 35 -6 29

12th Persik 23 9 2 12 28 36 -8 29

13th Persija 23 7 5 11 26 34 -8 26

14th Persela 23 6 6 11 27 37 -10 24

15th Persema 23 6 6 11 27 37 -10 24

16th Pupuk Kaltim 23 6 5 12 27 32 -5 23

17th Arema 23 4 9 10 26 34 -8 21

18th Perseman 23 5 5 13 27 34 -7 20

</pre>

Soon after I take charge of my first league game, the side will be off to Laos to contest the South East Asian Championships, and I think that we can probably give a good account of ourselves. It will be a different experience to the nearly full crowds at the 20000 all-seater Sanggraha Pelita Lebak Bulus stadium in Jakarta.

But before all of that, there was the World Cup in Germany to watch. The home nation had an exceptional run by getting to their second successive final, and in a repeat of the 1990 competition, Argentina were the opposition. This time though, it was the South Americans who ran out winners, Claudio López scoring the only goal of the game in the second period of extra time.

I would have brought in a few players to help sure up the squad during the six weeks before our first game, but transfers were not allowed, so I will reconsider the situation at the end of the season.

[binny]

My debut was a home tie against Persema and this was an opportunity for the squad to show what they were capable of. We’ve only got 17 players available in our squad; I have decided against recalling any of our players who are out on loan.

I got the start that I was looking for, as within the first minute we had the lead thanks to Argentine forward Gustavo Roberto Chena. We were in total control, and on 15, Chena doubled the lead.

It was clear to see just why this team were champions last time out as our play was far superior to anything that Persema could muster. Even an injury to defender Matías Alejandro Chávez couldn’t stop us as Chena completed his hatrick ten minutes before half time.

We could have hit double figures if not for an excellent display from the Persema goalkeeper, and if we had also been able to get a few more of our efforts on target. As it was, the only other goal of the game came from the visitors fifteen minutes from time, but the three points were already confirmed, and we now have a five-point gap above the relegation zone.

[binny]

We’ve got a nice distraction from the Indonesian Premier League for the next few days at least as the South East Asian Club Championships take place in Laos. As Indonesian champions, we will represent the country, and have been placed in Group D. The 12 sides in the competition are split into four groups of three, and after two matches for each side, the quarterfinalists will be decided. Our group games will take place in Champasak.

Our first game is against Singaporean champions Home Utd, who had already won their first game of the competition. The opening quarter of an hour was a bit tight as both sides tested each other out, but a moment of confusion in our box allowed our challengers to take the lead. Within two minutes though we were level as Putut Waringin Jati headed in, and we started to get into stride. On the half hour we took the lead as Ritham Madubun fired in following a corner, and that’s how it remained until half time.

Home Utd didn’t give up, and early in the second half we had to defend to keep our lead. We did it well, and midway through the second half we got a third through Bambang Pamungkas. Ten minutes later he grabbed his second to give us a 4-1 lead, and although we conceded another late on, the win was complete, and we’re just about through to the final eight.

[mattie]

Wow i've never read this story, and only yesterday was i saying to someone, i'm glad your fms isn't one that started with you in kuwalar lumpa (spelling) or something then the enxt thing manager of Middlesbrough, cool it's some kind of a sign, dunno what though

[binny]

Sorry mattie, I'm confused

Just two days later we were back in action, playing the final game of the group stage against Cambodian champions Samart Utd. I rested a few of the players as our opposition hadn’t looked so good in their first match, and we only needed a draw to make it through as group winners.

Perhaps tiredness was a major factor, because in the opening exchanges, we were on the back foot. Not that we had that much to do as the striking from the Cambodians left a lot to be desired. Soon we got into our stride, and midway through the first half Akhyar Ilyas scored his first goal for the club to give us the lead. Four minutes later he doubled his tally and we were cruising.

But we switched off, and within six minutes the lead was only one goal as our opposition hit us on the break. And five minutes into the second half we found ourselves level as more sloppy defending allowed their striker to head home.

A draw would have still seen us qualify comfortably, but we would have been the laughing stock of South East Asia had Emanuel De Porras not poked in a winner eight minutes from time as we eased through to the quarterfinals.

[binny]

The games in the championship came thick and fast, and we were handed a tough tie in the last eight just three days after our previous match against Thai champions BEC. In fact, the pre-match odds showed that they were favourites.

The first half was a real spectacle of football, and the only thing lacking was a goal. Both sides played some good football, but chances were at a premium, and when they did come, both goalkeepers were at the top of their game to keep the game at 0-0.

We were probably playing the better attacking football in the latter part of the first half and the early part of the second half, but tiredness did seem to affect us late on. Both sides kept plugging away as the game wore on, and seven minutes from time Trevor Duaramuri put the ball into his own net as he tried to clear from a scramble in the box.

It was a disappointing end to our campaign, but we must get ourselves back up for the run-in in the league which continues this coming weekend. And we’ll be without influential striker Gustavo Roberto Chena for the next fortnight after he strained his calf during the defeat today.

[binny]

We arrived back in Indonesia with our minds firmly set on moving up the table, and we had to start with a trip to Persita. With Chena injured, Nova Zaenal was given the role up front to partner Bambang Pamungkas.

We didn’t really play all that well early on; possibly we were still jetlagged from the trip back from Laos. That being said, Persita weren’t playing much better, but that all changed when Gustavo Hernan Ortiz was sent off for two quick yellow cards ten minutes before half time.

It took the home side just six minutes to take the advantage as our defence failed to pick up their lanky striker, and he headed in to give them a half time lead. With just ten men, and a goal down as well, it was no surprise that we were going to struggle in the second half, and we had to dig deep to keep the deficit at just one goal.

And with time running out, we went route one, and somehow Bambang Pamungkas turned his man and fired in an equaliser with just six minutes left to play. We could have thrown it away in the dying minutes, but we defended well and held on for a decent point.

[binny]

SUMMARY – July 2006

Persija 3 (Gustavo Roberto Chena 1, 15, 36)

Persema 1 (Rodrigo Araya 75)

Attendance: 15481

Persija 4 (Putut Waringin Jati 17, Ritham Madubun 29, Bambang Pamungkas 63, 73)

Home Utd 2 (Sazali Yahya 15, Amin Ishak 82)

Attendance: 4991 at Champasak, Champasak, Laos

SEA Club Championship, Group D

Samart Utd 2 (Dwight Wang 36, 50)

Persija 3 (Akhyar Ilyas 24, 28, Emanuel De Porras 82)

Attendance: 4961 at Champasak, Champasak, Laos

SEA Club Championship, Group D

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Q Persija 2 2 0 0 7 4 +3 6

2nd Q Home Utd 2 1 0 1 6 5 +1 3

3rd Samart Utd 2 0 0 2 3 7 -4 0

</pre>

Persija 0

BEC 1 (Trevor Duaramari (og) 83)

Attendance: 4934 at Champasak, Champasak, Laos

SEA Club Championship, Quarterfinal

Perista 1 (Ilham Jayakesuma 41)

Persija 1 (Bambang Pamungkas 84, Gustavo Hernan Ortiz s/o 35)

Attendance: 19925

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Persebaya 26 12 10 4 40 28 +12 46

2nd Semen Padang 26 13 6 7 43 32 +11 45

3rd Persikota 26 13 5 8 43 32 +11 44

4th PSM 26 12 8 6 38 29 +9 44

5th PSIS 25 13 5 7 38 32 +6 44

6th Persita 26 10 10 6 37 28 +9 40

7th PSS 26 11 7 8 39 33 +6 40

8th Deltras 26 13 1 12 39 35 +4 40

9th PSPS 26 10 10 6 39 35 +4 40

10th Persipura 26 9 6 11 34 40 -6 33

11th Persib 26 9 6 11 37 44 -7 33

12th Persija 25 8 6 11 30 36 -6 30

13th Persik 26 9 3 14 29 41 -12 30

14th Persela 26 7 7 12 32 41 -9 28

15th Pupuk Kaltim 26 7 6 13 30 35 -5 27

16th Arema 26 5 10 11 30 36 -6 25

17th Perseman 26 6 7 13 30 36 -6 25

18th Persema 26 6 7 13 28 43 -15 25

</pre>

[binny]

A home tie with PSIS was how we began August, and it was our game in hand having missed it due to the South East Asian Club Championship.

Despite the glut of games, the players were determined to show me what they could do, and after the rather poor play at the weekend, we were much improved, largely thanks to the backing of the fans. PSIS did have the odd chance, but we did create a number of chances that we failed to take in a goalless first half.

We continued in the same vein early in the second half, and five minutes in we deservedly took the lead through a Pamungkas header. We continued to press, and the failure to get a second goal was causing a lot of nerves to be jangled as PSIS continued to pose a threat on the counter attack. Pamungkas saw an effort come off the bar with about ten minutes to go, but in the final minute he bagged his brace to give us a very welcome victory.

[binny]

There was some really bad news during the week when Bambang Pamanguas fell awkwardly in training, injuring his hip. Our best player, and most consistent performer this season, is out for the rest of the season as he recovers from his imminent surgery. With Chena not quite fit either, Nova Zaenal is joined up front by Emanuel De Porras for the home tie with Deltras.

We played really well in the first half, not allowing Deltras to get into their stride whilst we created numerous chances. None of them were quite on target, and when they were, their goalkeeper was on hand to keep out our efforts. De Porras was also denied by the woodwork.

Deltras played a little better in the second half, and started to cause us a few problems. We did well enough though at the back, and continued to pressurise up front. Things just weren’t going our way though, and we had to settle for a 0-0 draw.

[binny]

We were back at virtually full strength for the trip to bottom side Persema and we were looking for a win to cement our place in the league for next season.

The opening twenty minutes or so seemed to be a repetition of the Deltras game, as we looked rusty in front of goal. But we were creating lots of chances, and just before the half hour mark Nova Zaenal headed in at the far post to finally give us a goal, and more importantly, the lead.

Persema made us work hard to hold onto our lead; they still have a decent enough chance of staying up, and they wanted to ensure that they did. We though want to recover some pride from the season and spent most of the second half trying to get a killer second.

As time ticked by both sets of fans were get more and more nervous, but with nine minutes left to play, Ritham Madubun stole in from the flank to put away an effort and confirm a decent victory.

[binny]

The next game was a home tie with title hopefuls Semen Padang. We though still have much to play for, and we don’t want to be making things easy for our visitors.

We were put under a little bit of pressure during the early part of the game as the visitors looked to assert their authority, but we were also creating our own chances. Neither goalkeeper was particularly tested in the first half, except when we had ours to thank for saving a Denny Sumantri penalty. That gave us some confidence to surge forward, and in the last minute of the half, Nova Zaenal stole in to put us in front.

And it was even better at half time when Trevor Duaramuri struck a second, and the midfielder got a third for us midway through the first half, scoring a screamer from outside the box.

We eased off after that, and allowed Semen Padang into the game for the last few minutes. We did concede one three minutes from time, but it was never going to be enough to put the result in doubt.

[binny]

The last game of the month was away at Persipura, whom we led only by goal difference going into the game. We were though without influential midfielder Ellie Aiboy for the game; he was suspended for picking up too many bookings over the season.

It was a tight affair early on, but soon the home side started to take the game to us, and we found ourselves under pressure at the back. But our defence has been decent over the last month, and again we showed why we were the reigning champions with some excellent defending.

And just before half time we broke forward, and Nova Zaenal scored for the third game in succession to give us a half time lead. The second half saw more of the same as the home side tried in vain to get back into the game, only to be thwarted by our defence and goalkeeper, who was excellent.

Persipura thought that they had equalised seven or eight minutes from time, but the effort was ruled out for offside. The victory has taken us within one point of mathematical safety, and with four games to go, we should be able to do that; especially considering that 13 points from a maximum 15 this month has seen the team earn me the Manager of the Month award.

[binny]

SUMMARY – August 2006

Persija 2 (Bambang Pamungkas 50, 90)

PSIS 0

Attendance: 15471

Persija 0

Deltras 0

Attendance: 15472

Perseman 0

Persija 2 (Nova Zaenal 29, Ritham Madubun 81)

Attendance: 4369

Persija 3 (Nova Zaenal 45, Trevor Duaramuri 45, 63)

Semen Padang 1 (Kusdiyanto 87, Denny Sumantri m/pen 29)

Attendance: 15463

Persipura 0

Persija 1 (Nova Zaenal 43)

Attendance: 29975

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st Persebaya 30 14 11 5 46 32 +14 53

2nd PSIS 30 15 7 8 44 36 +8 52

3rd Semen Padang 30 14 7 9 48 40 +8 49

4th Persikota 30 14 6 10 47 37 +10 48

5th PSM 30 13 9 8 43 35 +8 48

6th PSPS 30 12 12 6 45 39 +6 48

7th Persita 30 11 12 7 42 33 +9 45

8th PSS 30 12 8 10 44 40 +4 44

9th Persija 30 12 7 11 38 37 +1 43

10th Deltras 30 13 3 14 39 38 +1 42

11th Persipura 30 11 7 12 40 42 -2 40

12th Persik 30 12 4 14 34 42 -8 40

13th Persib 30 9 7 14 40 54 -14 34

14th Arema 30 7 12 11 36 39 -3 33

15th Pupuk Kaltim 30 8 8 14 36 40 -4 32

16th Persema 30 8 7 15 33 48 -15 31

17th Perseman 30 7 8 15 34 41 -7 29

18th Persela 30 7 7 16 32 48 -16 28

</pre>

[binny]

We had to wait a fortnight before getting our teeth in a home tie with Persela, and we wanted to turn the screw in their relegation fight. I certainly wasn’t in any mood for giving them a helping hand.

That didn’t seem to translate to the players early on, and the first half hour was really poor. But then Nova Zaenal continued his great form by putting us ahead, and that just opened up the floodgates. Gustavo Roberto Chena had struggled to find the net since he returned from an injury layoff, but two goals in four minutes had any doubts clearly out of mind.

And in even more bizarre circumstances, Hamka Hamzah, our centre-back scored in injury time with a cross-shot to give us a 4-0 half time lead. The second half was bound to be less exciting, although we did continue to dominate. Chena completed his hatrick in the penultimate minute to take his tally for the season to 16; a record for the club in recent seasons.

[binny]

Our final away game of the season was against title-challengers PSPS, but the injury news wasn’t good. Both Gustavo Roberto Chena and Trevor Duaramuri will miss the final three games having picked up injuries during the week.

The home side knew that they really had to win to keep up their title challenge, but with seventeen minutes gone, a neat move from a free kick resulted in Argentine defender Matías Alejandro Chávez firing in from outside the box to give us the lead.

The defence has been in top form over the last six or seven weeks, and so it was perhaps inevitable that PSPS’s equaliser would come from the penalty spot after our keeper was deemed to have unfairly challenged for the ball. It was just reward for the home side who had really put us under pressure.

We got back to our attacking game in the second half, but it was the introduction of 17-year-old Usman who turned the game; the midfielder restoring our lead with a fierce shot from outside the box just after coming on as a substitute.

PSPS were further hindered when they had a defender sent off with ten minutes to go, and although they had chances to find an equaliser, we hit a third on the break in injury time through Emanuel De Porras.

[binny]

The injury crisis was really starting to bite. Matías Alejandro Chávez fractured his cheekbone during training, and just minutes later, Ismed Sofyan twisted his knee. Both are out for the final two games of the season, starting with a visit from Arema. It left us with just three fit defenders, so five were played in midfield.

It was clear that we were struggling to hold down any sort of shape, and after Arema had sussed us out, they scored three times before half time to virtually wrap up the tie.

We were a little better in the second half, but it wasn’t pleasant to watch by any stretch of the imagination. We did pull a goal back through a fortunate Nova Zaenal penalty with the last goal of the game, but it was no more than a consolation.

[binny]

The final game of the season was a home tie with Persebaya who only needed a point to claim the title. We were still struggling to find a fit starting XI, so much so that we only had one fully fit striker available. That left an unlikely six to play in a somewhat strange midfield diamond.

The visitors were determined to make things difficult for themselves with a 6th-minute sending off of one of their defenders, and we actually carried a decent threat. Persebaya looked happy whilst the game remained 0-0, but you got the impression that they could turn on the pressure if they needed to.

There weren’t too many chances at either end, but a 0-0 draw against the champions was a decent enough result to end the season. In fact, we ended the season a mere eight points off the league champions, and I really feel that this side, with a little bit of strengthening, can really challenge once more next season.

[binny]

SUMMARY – September 2006

Persija 5 (Nova Zaenal 30, Gustavo Roberto Chena 40, 44, 89, Hamka Hamzah 45)

Persela 0

Attendance: 15486

PSPS 1 (Joe Nagbe pen 42, Slamet Riyadi s/o 79)

Persija 3 (Matías Alejandro Chávez 17, Usman 66, Emanuel De Porras 90)

Attendance: 26546

Persija 1 (Nova Zaenal pen 90)

Arema 3 (Mardiansyah 27, 44, Budi Sudarsono 39)

Attendance: 15483

Persija 0

Persebaya 0 (Irfan Junaidi s/o 6)

Attendance: 15471

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

1st C Persebaya 34 15 13 6 49 36 +13 58

2nd PSIS 34 16 9 9 48 39 +9 57

3rd Persikota 34 16 7 11 59 45 +14 55

4th Persita 34 14 12 8 50 38 +12 54

5th Semen Padang 34 15 9 10 53 47 +6 54

6th PSM 34 14 10 10 47 40 +7 52

7th PSPS 34 13 13 8 50 45 +5 52

8th PSS 34 14 9 11 53 48 +5 51

9th Persija 34 14 8 12 47 41 +6 50

10th Deltras 34 15 5 14 47 42 +5 50

11th Persipura 34 13 7 14 46 49 -3 46

12th Persik 34 14 4 16 39 47 -8 46

13th Arema 34 10 12 12 46 44 +2 42

14th Persib 34 10 8 16 44 60 -16 38

15th Pupuk Kaltim 34 8 11 15 39 46 -7 35

16th R Persema 34 9 8 17 36 51 -15 35

17th R Persela 34 9 7 18 38 59 -21 34

18th R Perseman 34 7 8 19 39 53 -14 29

</pre>

[binny]

The end of the season allowed everyone to go off on holiday, and just refocus for the task in hand next season. We’ve had a great run of late, and if we can take this sort of form into next season, we’re going to be a real force.

The squad is far too small to properly compete, and over the next few months, I’ll need to strengthen in just about every position on the park. I want to get the players in early as well in order to allow for a bit of team bonding, and with a healthy transfer kitty, price shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

The fans voted Gustavo Roberto Chena as their Player of the Season. He seemed a little inconsistent to me; capable of hitting a hatrick, or going for seven or eight games without a goal. Either way, it’s not likely that I’ll be getting rid of him, although another top-quality striker is a priority.

[binny]

Preseason 2007

We began our preseason build-up with the Friendly Cup at our ground. The semi-final was played against Korean side Seongnam, and the early-season cobwebs were clear to everyone as we lost 2-0. The Koreans went on to win the final, whilst we had an exciting game against my former club, Malaysian side Kuala Lumpur. They took the lead midway through the first half, but a minute from time Ellie Aiboy equalised, and we took 3rd place by three goals to one on a penalty shootout.

We again looked lethargic in going down 2-0 to the Iranians of Esteghal before setting off for some sun and football in a three-match tour of the Maldives. New signing, Fodé Camara hit a hattrick as we squeezed past Hurriyya, but we were awful in crashing to a 3-0 defeat against New Radiant. We did get back on track in the final game as second half strikes from Pamungkas and De Porras gave us a 2-0 win over Victory, whilst back in Indonesia, we won 1-0 at PSDS thanks to an early strike from Pamungkas.

Given the poor showing last season, the pundits aren’t expecting much from us, although we are expected to have an outside chance of challenging for the title. Going into the season, we’ve been quoted at 16-1, and I’d be very tempted to have a bet on that one.

[binny]

Persija Jakarta squad 2007

The squad is looking a lot healthier for this season. Given that when I arrived I had just seventeen players at my disposal, the numbers have increased significantly, and we should be able to put in a good show for the season.

The goalkeeping jersey will be given to Syamsidar to start with, but Kurnia Sandy is pushing hard for that spot. Mukti Ali is third choice, and barring any major injuries, isn’t likely to feature much this season, if ever.

Ismed Sofyan was an automatic choice last season at left-back due to a lack of competition, but Isdiantono looks capable of filling that particular void. He’s injured just at the moment, but should be fit again soon.

It was a similar story for Adnan Mahing at right-back last season, but Miftahul Huda and Suroso with both be pushing for a starting berth. Agung Setyabudi will provide experienced backup, and all, barring Suroso, could be used as emergency wingers if need be.

At centre-back it’s likely to be two from the trio of Matías Alejandro Chávez, Hamka Hamzah and Harry Saputra. Back-up will be provided by the ageing Djet Donald.

The wingers will be new for the season as both of last season’s players were allowed to leave the club. On the left, Muhammad Iqbal will probably get the nod over Muhammad Nasuha, whilst on the right, Affan Lubis will take preference over Arliston.

The centre of midfield is likely to be dominated by Trevor Duaramuri and Imran Nahumarury, whilst Ellie Aiboy provides a more attacking option. Under-21 duo Putut Waringin Jati and Usman can also expect some action this season as well, although they might start the season in the Under-19 squad in order to get some match practice.

Up front, the trio of Fodé Camara, Gustavo Roberto Chena and Bambang Pamungkas will vie for the two starting points, with Nova Zaenal and Emanuel De Porras providing more than adequate back-up.

[binny]

The season began with a trip to PSMS and we were without first choice fullbacks; Isdiantono still injured and Miftahul Huda starting a suspension that was incurred at the back end of last season. Suroso and Ismed Sofyan come in, and should be more than capable of doing the job.

We were still looking a little lethargic early on, and PSMS had a good few chances to take the lead. We defended well though, and slowly weathered out the storm. And with our first really incisive move into the PSMS area, Guinean international Fodé Camara marked his debut with a fantastic goal to give us the lead.

One of the features of our late-season run last time out was our excellent defensive record, and we seemed to be keeping that up as the new term got under way. But we were undone by a rather dodgy refereeing decision that gave the home side a penalty early in the second half, and we found ourselves pegged back to 1-1.

Both sides had a number of chances to win the game in the last half hour, but chances went begging at both ends, and both sides were quite happy to take a point from the season opener.

[binny]

It was an unchanged line up as Deltras came to visit in our first home game of the season, and it was pleasing to see the fans coming out in force, despite the poor season last time out.

We attacked from the start as Deltras were just unable to cope with our attacking play, but both Bambang Pamungkas and Fodé Camara missed glorious chances early on. We continued to dominate, and by half time, Deltras had still not even mustered one effort. By then, we had finally taken the lead, as Pamungkas fired in after a neat move five minutes before the break.

We should have extended the lead inside thirty seconds of the second half, but Pamungkas hit the side netting. Chena came on to try and wrap things up, but he also looked rusty at the start of the season. There was always a chance that we would be caught on the break, but seven minutes from time Pamungkas finally got a second as he ran through the Deltras defence, and fired in to complete a wonderful goal and an important victory.

[binny]

A week later we were away at PSM, and we welcomed back Isdiantono into the side at left-back.

Both sides produced some good attacking football throughout the game, but after a period of particular pressure, we cracked at the back and found ourselves behind at half time due to a goal mid-way through the first half.

We produced enough chances in the second half to get back into it, but as we pushed forward we were liable to be caught on the break. And that’s exactly what happened twelve minutes from time as we lost our first game of the season.