2018 PKNS F.C. season
# 2018 PKNS F.C. season

The 2018 season is PKNS's 5th season in the top flight of Malaysian football, the Malaysia Super League after being promoted from 2016 Malaysia Premier League.

## Club officials

| Position | Staff |
| - | - |
| Head coach | K. Rajagobal |
| Assistant head coach | Adam Abdullah |
| Goalkeeping coach | Faozi |
| Fitness coach | Matus Bozik |
| Assistant coach | Khairul Abu Zahar |
| Team doctor | Dr.Vijayan Munusamy |

## Transfers

### First transfer

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | GK | MAS | Zarif Irfan (from Selangor) |
| 2 | DF | MAS | K. Reuben (from Penang) |
| 3 | DF | MAS | Rodney Celvin (from Sarawak) |
| 4 | DF | MAS | Daniel Ting (from Johor Darul Ta'zim II) |
| 6 | MF | MAS | M. Tinnadkaran (from MIFA) |
| 8 | DF | AUS | Zac Anderson (from Kedah) |
| 9 | FW | MAS | Jafri Firdaus Chew (from Penang) |
| 12 | DF | MAS | Qayyum Marjoni (from Kelantan) |
| 16 | MF | MAS | Nurridzuan Abu Hassan (from Pahang) |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Jonathan Acosta (from Jaguares) |
| 20 | FW | MAS | Faizat Ghazli (from Penang) |
| 21 | MF | COL | Romel Morales (from Banfield) |
| 24 | DF | MAS | Annas Rahmat (from Negeri Sembilan) |
| 25 | GK | MAS | Shahril Saa'ri (from Sarawak) |
| 28 | DF | MAS | Mahali (on loan from Johor Darul Ta'zim) |
| 29 | FW | BRA | Rafael Ramazotti (from DPMM) |
| 30 | MF | SGP | Faris Ramli (from Home United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | MAS | G. Jeevananthan (unattached) |
| 2 | MF | KOR | Park Kwang-il (to Jeonnam Dragons) |
| 3 | DF | MAS | Azmi Muslim (to Melaka United) |
| 4 | FW | LBR | Patrick Wleh (to Ismaily) |
| 6 | MF | MAS | Munir Amran (unattached) |
| 7 | MF | MAS | P. Rajesh (to MISC-MIFA) |
| 8 | MF | MAS | Khairu Azrin (to Felda United) |
| 9 | FW | MAS | Bobby Gonzales (to Sarawak) |
| 12 | DF | GAM | Abdou Jammeh (unattached) |
| 13 | MF | MAS | Fauzan Dzulkifli (to Negeri Sembilan) |
| 16 | DF | MAS | Azreen Zulkafali (to Felda United) |
| 17 | DF | MAS | Abdul Ghani Rahman (to Kuantan) |
| 19 | MF | MAS | Khairul Ramadhan (to Hanelang) |
| 20 | FW | MAS | Affize Faisal (unattached) |
| 21 | MF | POR | Fábio Ferreira (to Sydney FC) |
| 22 | GK | MAS | Zamir Selamat (to Melaka United) |
| 24 | DF | MAS | Nizam Abu Bakar (to Felcra) |
| 25 | GK | MAS | Nor Haziq Aris (to Kuantan) |
| 26 | DF | MAS | Amirizdwan Taj (to Kelantan) |
| — | DF | MAS | Sabre Abu (to Sarawak, previously on loan at Negeri Sembilan) |
| — | MF | MAS | R. Thivagar (unattached, previously on loan at PBMS) |
| — | MF | MAS | Adam Shafiq Fua'ad (unattached, previously on loan at PBMS) |
| — | FW | MAS | Shakir Ali (unattached, previously on loan at PDRM) |
| — | MF | MAS | Shahurain Abu Samah (PDRM, previously on loan at PDRM) |
| — | FW | MAS | Farderin Kadir (Melaka United, previously on loan at PKNS) |

### Mid season transfer

| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | - | - | - |
| 6 | DF | MAS | Nik Shahrul Azim (from Kelantan) |
| 19 | MF | BRA | Bruno Matos (from Juazeirense) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Jonathan Acosta (unattached) |

## Pre-season and friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 15 December 2017 | Negeri Sembilan | H | 1–1 | |
| 23 December 2017 | PKNP | H | 2–0 | Khyril, Morales |
| 30 December 2017 | Kuala Lumpur | A | 0–1 | |
| 6 January 2018 | PKNP | A | 3–1 | Safee, Morales, Nurridzuan |
| 20 January 2018 | Pattaya United | A | 1–1 | Safee |
| 23 January 2018 | Police Tero | A | 0–2 | |
| 26 January 2018 | Gyeongnam | A | 1–1 | |

## Malaysia Super League

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers, Bookings | League position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 3 February 2018 | Terengganu | A | 2–2 | Qayyum 39', Ramazotti 69' | 5th |
| 7 February 2018 | Pahang | H | 1–0 | Safee 90+2' | 4th |
| 10 February 2018 | Perak | A | 2–0 | Ramazotti (2) 2', 63' | 1st |
| 25 February 2018 | Kedah | H | 3–4 | Faris 32', Mahali (2) 47', 90+5' | 4th |
| 9 March 2018 | Kelantan | H | 1–0 | Faris 40' | 3rd |
| 14 April 2018 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | A | 0–3 | | 5th |
| 27 April 2018 | PKNP | H | 1–1 | Nurridzuan 90+4' | 5th |
| 2 May 2018 | Kuala Lumpur | A | 1–2 | Faris 45' | 6th |
| 5 May 2018 | Melaka United | H | 2–0 | Ramazotti 69', Safee 80' | 4th |
| 13 May 2018 | Kuala Lumpur | H | 3–2 | Safee 10', Faris 38', Acosta 51' | 6th |
| 23 May 2018 | Melaka United | A | 1–1 | Jafri 43' | 6th |
| 27 May 2018 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | H | 0–0 | | 6th |
| 3 June 2018 | Negeri Sembilan | A | 1–3 | Morales 73' | 6th |
| 6 June 2018 | Selangor | A | 1–2 | Safee 43' | 6th |
| 10 June 2018 | Selangor | H | 2–2 | Ramazotti (2) 18', 90+2' | 6th |
| 19 June 2018 | Kelantan | A | 2–0 | Matos (2) 4', 87' | 6th |
| 26 June 2018 | Kedah | A | 0–2 | | 6th |
| 11 July 2018 | Negeri Sembilan | H | 5–3 | Faris 11', Safee 25', Matos 31', Morales 47', Khyril 90+2' | 6th |
| 14 July 2018 | Terengganu | H | 4–0 | Matos (2) 16' (pen.), 31', Anderson 38', Jafri 66' | 6th |
| 18 July 2018 | PKNP | A | 1–0 | Faris 5' | 3rd |
| 21 July 2018 | Pahang | A | 0–1 | | 5th |
| 28 July 2018 | Perak | H | 4–1 | Matos (2) 3', 79', Ramazotti 40', Morales 90+4' | 3rd |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Johor Darul Ta'zim (C) | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 9 | +38 | 59 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Perak | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 27 | +8 | 36 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League second preliminary round |
| 3 | PKNS | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 35 | |
| 4 | Pahang | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 34 | |
| 5 | Terengganu | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 31 | +1 | 34 | |

## Malaysia FA Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 March 2018 | Second round | Hanelang | H | 4–1 | Jafri 10', Morales 38', Ramazotti 57', Nurridzuan 70' |
| 17 March 2018 | Third round | Kelantan | H | 4–1 | Morales 15', Mahali 42', Safee 60', Ramazotti 65' |
| 7 April 2018 | Quarter-final First leg | Perak | H | 2–1 | Faris 25', Safee 89' |
| 21 April 2018 | Quarter-final Second leg | Perak | A | 2–2 | Rodney 55', Gurusamy 64' (pen.) |
| 23 June 2018 | Semi-final First leg | Selangor | A | 0–4 | |
| 30 June 2018 | Semi-final Second leg | Selangor | H | 1–1 | Alif Haikal 90' |

## Malaysia Cup

### Group stage

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Group position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 5 August 2018 | PDRM | A | 5–2 | Morales 26' (pen.), Daniel 47', Faris 63', Ramazotti 73', Safee 90+1' | 1st |
| 11 August 2018 | Melaka United | A | 3–3 | Morales 87', Matos 90+1', Ramazotti 90+3' | 1st |
| 19 August 2018 | Felda United | H | 2–3 | Faris 16', Ramazotti 90+3' | 2nd |
| 28 August 2018 | Felda United | A | 0–1 | Mahali 11' | 2nd |
| 1 September 2018 | Melaka United | H | 2–1 | Morales 24', Ramazotti 66' | 2nd |
| 15 September 2018 | PDRM | H | 5–0 | Jafri 4', Matos 13', 21', 77', Faizat 54', | 1st |

**Knock-stage**

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Round position |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 25 September 2018 | Perak TBG | A | 0–0 | | | Quarter-finals leg 1 |
| 30 September 2018 | Perak TBG | H | 0–2 | | | Quarter-finals leg 2 |
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PKNS | FEL | MEL | PDRM |
| 1 | PKNS | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 13 | Quarter-finals | — | 2–3 | 2–1 | 5–0 |
| 2 | Felda United | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 10 | Quarter-finals | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| 3 | Melaka United | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 9 | +9 | 9 | | 3–3 | 6–1 | — | 2–2 |
| 4 | PDRM | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 25 | −20 | 1 | | 2–5 | 0–5 | 1–6 | — |

## Statistics

### Squad appearances

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | Malaysia Cup | Malaysia Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Zarif Irfan | 4 | +7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | +3 | 11 | +10 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | K. Reuben | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 12(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Rodney Celvin | 14(2) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 25(2) | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Daniel Ting | 13(4) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 4(2) | 1 | 22(7) | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | Shahrul Azhar | 4(3) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5(5) | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Nik Shahrul Azim | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7(1) | 0 | 20(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | K. Gurusamy | 9(6) | 0 | 2(1) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 17(7) | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Zac Anderson | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Jafri Firdaus Chew | 8(5) | 2 | 3(2) | 4(1) | 1 | 0 | 14(8) | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | FW | Safee Sali | 9(10) | 5 | 2(2) | 2 | 1(3) | 1 | 12(15) | 8 | 6 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Nazrin Syamsul | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | DF | Qayyum Marjoni | 14(2) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 19(4) | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Khyril Muhymeen | 2(8) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 5(12) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | P. Gunalan | 3(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 7(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Nurridzuan Abu Hassan | 1(2) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5(4) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Azmizi Azmi | 10 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | M. Sivakumar | 4(3) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7(5) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Bruno Matos | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Faizat Ghazli | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2(3) | 1 | 2(5) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Romel Morales | 20(1) | 3 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 34(1) | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 22 | GK | Tauffiq Ar Rasyid | 2 | +2 | 2 | –4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | –2 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Alif Haikal | 0(4) | 0 | 0(1) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 0(7) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Annas Rahmat | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Shahril Saa'ri | 16 | +1 | 4 | +7 | 1 | 0 | 21 | +8 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Mahali Jasuli | 8(7) | 2 | 4(1) | 1 | 5(1) | 1 | 17(9) | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | Rafael Ramazotti | 20(1) | 7 | 5(1) | 2 | 7 | 4 | 31(2) | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | Faris Ramli | 20(1) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 28(1) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Left club during season |||||||||||||
| 19 | MF | Jonathan Acosta | 10(1) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14(1) | 1 | 0 | 0 |

Statistics accurate as of 30 September 2018.

### Clean sheets

| Rnk | No. | Player | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 25 | Shahril Saa'ri | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 1 | Zarif Irfan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | 22 | Tauffiq Ar Rasyid | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
