Felda United aim to continue winning run

E. Elavarasan is a contented man these days.

With his team sitting pretty on top of Group C above Kelantan, Johor FC and Sarawak, the Felda United head coach can now start making plans for the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.

After winning all three matches in the first round of the group stage, Felda United drew 1-1 at home with Johor FC on Sunday and the club side will progress to the next round should they secure one point from their away game to Sarawak on Saturday.

"We are currently enjoying a good run but the best moment for everybody in the camp thus far was when we managed to get the better of Kelantan in Selayang last week.
 

"The victory over the league champions was very important to us as it made us feel like we were good enough to go all the way in this competition," he said.

Elavarasan said the current Malaysia Cup run is a complete opposite from how they fared in last year's tournament.

"We were bundled out early last year after losing all our group matches and that is why we are now delighted to be leading the group and almost certain of a place in the quarter-finals.

"But the key here is to keep on progressing until the end and not falter halfway like we did in the FA Cup when we lost to Kelantan in the semi-finals," he said.

This season, Felda United were quick off the starting block but were not consistent enough to keep the momentum going.

The coach said his team were hovering near the top of the Super League table early in the season but in the end, they had to settle for mid-table mediocrity.

"It was the same for us in the FA Cup, although I personally thought there was no shame in our losing the semi-final battle to Kelantan.

"But those were lessons that we had to learn the hard way and we know better now to avoid the same mistakes again," said Elavarasan.