PETALING JAYA: It has not been a fairytale run for playmaker R. Kogileswaran in Penang, but he hopes to make amends when he faces his former club Pahang.
The 25-year-old, who played for the Elephants from 2016 to 2019, said it would be great to meet his former side in the Super League at the City Stadium in Georgetown today and hopes to get his season going.
In all competitions, Kogileswaran has played 12 matches but has yet to score. He has taken 13 shots and missed all but six were close.
The former Petaling Jaya City player joined the team during the second transfer window from South Korean League Two club Cheongbuk Cheongju.
Kogileswaran believes that he and his teammates have what it takes to take down Pahang.
“I’m not nervous even though I’ll be facing my former team because I’ve nothing to lose. Each player needs to show up,” said the player who has earned eight international caps with Malaysia, scoring two goals.
“I have not scored any goals and only made one assist. The team are down at the moment, and we can see that we struggle to create chances and hold possessions.
“In most games, we have not been the best.
“I had chances to score, but I could not convert them, so it’s my fault, too.
“I just hope to get on the scoresheet in the upcoming league matches. We have three more left, so we’ll go all out.”
Penang are at the 11th spot with 20 points from 23 games. In the last seven matches, they have lost six and drawn one, which saw the club letting go of Chong Yee Fatt and Manzoor Azwira as coaches and roping in Penang II coach Akmal Rizal Rakhli as the interim coach.
Kogileswaran said the decision to let go of Yee Fatt and Manzoor was a surprise as they had tried really hard to resurrect the fortunes of the club.
“They did everything they could to bring the morale of the team up. But luck was not on our side. Things didn’t turn out well,” said Kogileswaran.
As for his future with the club, Kogileswaran said he wants to complete the two games with the club before thinking about it.
“The club have not contacted me on any extension yet. I have not negotiated with any other clubs too. I will wait for the season to be over first,” said Kogileswaran, who signed a six-month deal with the club in June.
