THERE aren’t many teams which can claim to have an upper hand on Darul Ta’zim but Pahang can boast of not having lost to the Super League champions in the last five meetings between the two Malaysia Cup finalists.
Pahang have won three and drawn two of those matches, four which were played this year including a 1-0 win against Darul Ta’zim in the FA Cup semi-final second leg and 3-2 in the Super League, both in Kuantan.
Crucially, Pahang also have the experience of having beaten Darul Ta’zim 2-1 at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, venue of tomorrow’s Malaysia Cup final, in the second leg of the 2013 FA Cup semi-finals which was moved from Kuantan due to overcrowding at the Darulmakmur Stadium.
Darul Ta’zim coach Bojan Hodak, however, does not think past records will matter much in the final.
“I don’t think there was much difference when we played them before,” Hodak, who will be in charge of a team in a third straight Malaysia Cup final, said yesterday.
“Only the last meeting with Pahang (FA Cup semi-final second leg) was a difficult game for us otherwise there were other factors involved.
“That does not mean they are necessarily better than us and the two times we drew with them at home, there was an issue with the refereeing for the first one (1-1) and in the other one (2-2), we conceded a last-minute equaliser due to a lack of concentration.
“I think both teams are equal and it is the team which plays the best in the final which will win.”
In the four meetings between the two teams this year, Pahang outscored Darul Ta’zim 7-5 with Argentines Matias Conti and Luciano Figueroa each netting twice for their respective teams.
Both players could have a decisive say again tomorrow with Nigerian forward Dickson Nwakaeme and Argentine playmaker Jorge Pereyra Diaz providing support for Conti and Figueroa respectively.
But Hodak said that too much attention is paid to the foreign players and does not exclude the possibility of a local player becoming the match hero, as Pahang’s Johor-born midfielder Faizol Hussain did in the FA Cup tie on May 30.
“Both teams have quality foreign players but nobody can really be sure who will cause a surprise,” said the Croatian.
“It may depend on one moment of lack of concentration or one moment of brilliance.
“It is not just about the foreign players because there are many quality local players in both teams.”
Meanwhile, Darul Ta’zim defender Aidil Zafuan Radzak accepted the FA of Malaysia’s decision not to rescind the yellow card he received in last Saturday’s 3-1 semi-final second leg win over Felda United which ruled him out of the final.
“I knew from the beginning that it would take a miracle to overturn the decision,” said Aidil, who also sat out last year’s FA Cup final due to suspension.
Hodak said he expected Aidil’s ban to stand and his plans for the final took into account the fact that his captain will not be playing.