PETALING JAYA: Wingback Quentin Cheng was probably Selangor’s most frustrated player after their narrow 2-1 loss to Thai side Muangthong United in their AFC Champions League Two match on Friday.
The 25-year-old, who has been the Red Giants’ standout player recently, got on the scoresheet but had to see his side eventually beaten. Quentin also couldn’t believe Selangor’s bad luck as they had five attempts which hit the bar or post.
Now, Quentin intends to channel all that frustration into helping Selangor win their first game under new coach Katsuhito Kinoshi in their Malaysia Cup round of 16 second-leg game against Pahang at the Petaling Jaya Stadium today.
“It’s one of those games where you can’t believe how bad your luck can be. We had the best chances to beat Muangthong but still it did not go our way. But that’s football sometimes,’’ he said. ‘’We have to get over this quick and focus on beating Pahang and getting into the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.’’
Quentin seems to be enjoying playing under the 3-5-2 formation with his high workrate, superb overlapping runs and smart defensive work attesting to that.
He also makes good use of his imposing 1.88m (6’1’’) stature during set-pieces, a quality which could counter the threat by Pahang’s towering imports Aleksandar Cvetkovic and Stefano Brundo.
Meanwhile, Kinoshi said he expects his charges to be more aggressive when they take on Pahang. “First of all, I want to say that we do not train to hit the post,” he jested.
“We must make sure the ball is not hitting the post but goes into the net this time. We’ve had two days of preparation and recovery, so we’re fresh to go for a win.’’
