There were goals aplenty in Trebor Mahtal’s first season in Malaysia as he led Perak to an immediate promotion and a cup final, scoring 148 goals and conceding 66 in 37 matches. He now faced a huge task to strengthen his squad and compete in the top-tier Malaysian Super League.
There was good news off the pitch too as, having agreed to fund Mahtal’s National B Licence when they hired him, the Perak board immediately agreed to fund his National C Licence. Then in January 2030, they agreed for him to take his Continental B Licence, which he completed in July to boost his reputation to 2.5 stars. Then, in December, the board agreed to find his Continental A Licence.
That task wasn’t helped by star player Muhd Izzuddin Ismail departing for perennial champions Johor, left back Mamat joined Sembilan, while 27 players were released. But Mahtal extended the loan deal for wideman Redzuan Naim from Sabah. His main priority was replacing Ismail’s 40 goal contributions, and he turned to his new-found ability to sign foreigners to draft in 19-year-old Argentinian attacker Ramón Arce. Nine more free transfers arrived, including centre back Mohd Faisal Yussof, goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Abdullah and midfielders Rosdin Abdul Ghani and Stanislas N’Goma, and Mahtal loaned in right back Shamsuddin Abdullah from Selangor.
Perak’s success against Super League sides in the cup last season convinced Mahtal to stick with his positive 4-2-4 approach. But he debated dropping the midfielder back into a double-pivot system to offer a little more defensive stability.
Stepping Up To The Super League
The bookies fancied Perak to perform well upon their return to CIMB Malaysia Super League, predicting them to finish 8th with title odds of 50/1. Johor, who’ve now won 16 successive titles, are 4/11 favourites followed by Selangor (7/1), Sabah (9/1) and Kedah (33/1).
Perak began at home to Kelantan and Arce made an immediate impact, rising highest to head the opener at the backpost. Kelantan bossed the first half and got level but Arce was involved again, teeing up Naim to curl home from 20 yards to earn his new club a winning start. Next up was a trip to rivals and last season’s 3rd-place finishers Selangor, who gave them a bit of a hiding in a 3-1 victory. Perak bounced back in style as Othman’s debut brace and a late Arce strike secured a 4-1 win at Kuala Lumpur, but an unpredictable start continued with a 4-1 defeat at home to Kedah and disappointing 1-1s with PDRM and Pahang.
Perak bounced back with a 3-2 win at Penang, before putting in a dominant performance to defeat strugglers KL Rovers 4-0. That was followed by their first top-flight meeting with Johor, who obviously scored their first shot but got a man sent off for a shocking tackle just before halftime. Perak struggled to get going even as Mahtal threw everything at it, but eventually struck deep into injury time through loanee striker Mohd Izham Mohamad to nick a point. Striker Zulkifli Hashim had struggled for goals this season but scored a huge one to nick a 2-1 win over 4th-place Sembilan. That lifted Perak above them heading into a 42-day break.
Tough Cup Draw
There was no hope of cup success this season as Perak drew Johor away in the second round of the Piala FA, and they unsurprisingly lost 2-1. Johor went on to win their first Piala FA Cup since 2024, beating Sabah 3-0 in the Final. Perak fared better in the Piala Malaysia Cup as they won a battle of rotated sides to see off Selangor 4-3 on aggregate in the quarters and Penang 5-3 in the semis to face – you guessed it – Johor in the Final. And their inability to compete with Johor continued in a 2-0 defeat.
Outside Shot At Continental Qualification
A 4th-place finish could secure qualification for the AFC Cup. But Perak’s hopes faded as they resumed with a 1-1 at MPPD before getting dominated 4-2 by Selangor despite striker Muhd Jafri Muhd Firdaus Chew (Chewy) scoring his first league goal of the season. Another tough game followed and they lost 3-1 at Sabah, portraying the gap between them and the big three. A poor run was snapped by Arce scoring the opener and creating another in a 4-1 thumping of Kuala Lumpur, but their struggles against the bigger sides showed in a 3-2 defeat at home to Sabah.
The impressive Arce bagged back-to-back braces to inspire 3-0 wins over Penang and dismal KL Rovers, which solidified at least 6th. Mahtal unearthed a potential new gem as injuries forced him to start 17-year-old academy graduate striker Loganathan Somasundram and he scored twice on debut in a 5-1 thrashing of Armed Forces. Perak eased to a 5th-place finish with 43 points after 12 wins, 7 draws and 7 defeats, scoring 54 and conceding 41. But they finished a huge 31 points behind perennial champions Johor, who wrapped up a 17th consecutive title with their first unbeaten season of the save and a domestic treble.
Positive Signs At Perak
Mahtal was pleased with Perak’s progress in his first season in the Super League. They were never at risk of relegation and they pushed close to a top-four finish. Arce proved an inspired signing as he led the way with 20 goals in 33 games, but his lack of creativity with just 2 assists was a slight concern. Zulki chipped in with 7 goals and 7 assists, Othman scored 7 with 5 assists and promising youngster Somsundram scored 5 in 7 games.
But Mahtal was under no illusions that they were a country mile away from not only Johor but Sahar and Selangor. He had plenty of work to do to strengthen his squad to reach those levels and, based on the current finances, that felt like a pretty impossible task at present.
Could Mahtal push Perak onto the next level for their second season in Super League? Join us on Friday to find out!
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