Elavarasan points the missed penalty as turning point in game

 

Lucas Espindola vindicates E. Elavarasan's decision to sign him for PKNS after his two-goals exploits against Perak

PKNS continued their winning run after what turned out to be an easy 3-0 win over Perak on a hot Saturday evening at Shah Alam Stadium.

Lucas Espindola scored twice to give PKNS a comfortable 2-0 lead against a very lethargic Perak side before a late Safee Sali goal capped a wonderful win for E. Elavarasan.

In the post-match press conference, the PKNS coach pointed to the moment when he really thought that the game will side with his team and it wasn't the two goals scored by his new foreign signing.

"I think the turning point was when our keeper saved the penalty. That was when we knew we had the advantage. Because before that, Perak were still very threatening and had they score that, the result might have been different," said Elavarasan.

Having allowed Gabriel Guerra to move to Johor Darul Ta'zim during the transfer window, Espindola was brought in as the replacement but earlier performances have raised questions about his signing. On this performance, Elavarasan was understably please that his decision to take him on was justified.

"As I’ve said before, we took Lucas because we wanted someone who can score goals. He’s not the best in midfield but he can score goals. Since we have others to do the job in midfield, that’s why we took him on. For him, we are more concern for him to play further forward and score goals," explained Elavarasan.

Perak wilted under the hot evening weather as Karl-Heinz Weigang's side struggled to get into the game. A three-man midfield containing of more defensive players also meant that chances created by the away side were few and far in between.

Elavarasan went on to show his pleasure that there's shared responsibility in the team. In the sense that while Patrick Ronaldinho WLeh scored a hattrick last weekend, the Liberian did not get on the score sheet this time around but the others have put in their contributions.

"We still more games to go. We will go through better and worse conditions. What is important from games like this is that the team shares the goals around. When Wleh is not scoring, others contributed," added Elavarasan.

PKNS will next face Melaka United in FA Cup action on Tuesday.