The 2017 season is Penangs 91st competitive season, 2nd consecutive season in the top flight of Malaysian football, and 96th year in existence as a football club. The season covers the period from 1 November 2016 to 31 October 2017.
Month by month review
November 2016 On 28 November, Ashley Westwood was unveiled as the new head coach of Penang, signing a two-year contract. On 30 November, Penang received RM 4 millions allocation from the state government.
December 2016 On 1 December, Penang confirmed that Legea will be the official kit manufacturer for three years from 2017. On 5 December, Penang announced it had retained 16 players from last season. On 22 December, it was announced that on the FA Cup second round, Penang will play at away against MPKB-BRI U-BeS. On 30 December, it was announced that on the opening day, Penang will kick-off the season at away against Selangor.
January Penang won its first pre-season match, against Felcra FC, which ended in a 2–0 victory. In the following match four days later, Penang won 2–1 against PDRM. On 9 January, Faiz Subri won the 2016 FIFA Puskás Award, becoming the first Asian to win the award. On 13 January, Penang confirmed the signings of Amirul Asyraf Suhaidi, K. Reuben, Yong Kuong Yong, Zulkhairi Zulkeply, Shazalee Ramlee, Nigel Dabinyaba, Diogo Ferreira and Andy Russell. Penang concluded its pre-season campaign with a 0–1 defeat to Nagaworld FC from Cambodia on the same day. On 18 January, Penang completed the signings of Syed Adney and G. Mahathevan, while Elias Sulaiman and Darwira Sazan were released. Penang lost 0–2 in their opening match against Selangor on 21 January at Selayang. On 27 January, Penang lost again in the league campaign against Perak.
February Penang recorded their third and fourth consecutive loss as they lost 0–1 to T-Team at away on 4 February and Sarawak at home on 11 February. Three days later, Penang finally scored the first goal of the season in the FA Cup match against MPKB-BRI U-BeS which was also the first victory of the season. The Panthers failed to arrest their four-match defeat and goalless streaks in the league as they were demolished by Pahang at away with the score 1–6. FIFA Puskas Award winner Faiz Subri ended his year-long goal drought but could not prevent Penang from going down 3–1 to Super League leaders Kedah in Alor Star on 25 February.
March Penang picked up their first point of the season after coming from behind to hold Melaka United to a 1–1 draw at the State Stadium on 1 March. 3 days later, Penang recorded another 1–1 draw in Shah Alam against PKNS FC. On 11 March, Penang was knocked out from the FA Cup campaign, losing 1–4 to Negeri Sembilan after extra time in Paroi. The management board mutually terminated the contract of their coach, Ashley Westwood, following a spate of poor results in the M-League. On 24 March, Zainal Abidin Hassan was unveiled as Penang's head coach to replace the former.
April After nine attempts, Penang finally achieved their first league victory of the season after defeating Felda United 1–0 at Tun Abdul Razak Stadium on 9 April. However, the panthers failed to continue the momentum, losing 1–5 to Kelantan at home 6 days later. Penang confirmed their absence from the Malaysia Cup for the second consecutive seasons as they lost 1–2 to Johor Darul Ta'zim at home on 26 April.
May Despite Nigel Dabinyaba's fourth goal of the season, Penang moved closer to the drop after a 2–1 home defeat to Felda United on 7 May. 8 days later, Penang re-signed Darwira Sazan and Elias Sulaiman, Andy Russell and Diogo Ferreira were released on the same day. On 18 May, Penang confirmed the signings of Azidan Sarudin and R. Surendran from Kuala Lumpur and free Agent respectively. On the next day, former Gambia international, Sanna Nyassi signed with the team. New signing, Nyassi scored a brace in his debut with Penang against Kelantan which ended 2–2 on 24 May.
June On 7 June, Penang completed the sixth transfer of the summer transfer window, signing former Sarawak's striker, Mark Hartmann. On the next day, Brandon McDonald signed with Penang, replacing Reinaldo Lobo who is injured.
July Penang continued the losing streak, losing 0–2 to the Super League defending champion, Johor Darul Ta'zim at Johor Bahru on 1 July.
September On 20 September 2017, Penang has been relegated to second-tier Malaysia Premier League next year. The club's fate has been sealed following the 2–0 home defeat to T-Team.Penang relegated to second-tier Malaysia League; Football Tribe Asia, 21 September 2017
Coaching staff Position NameHead coach Zainal Abidin Hassan Assistant coach Darren ReadGoalkeeping coach Lim Chuan ChinFitness coach Noel AugustineMedical Officer K. MathialaganPhysiotherapist Samuel ColemanKit Man Reza Irwan Khairuddin Mohd Fadzly AhmadU-21 Team Head Coach Manzoor Azwira Abdul WahidU-19 Team Head Coach Noraffendi Taib
Squad
Squad No. Name Nationality Position(s) Date of birth (age) Goalkeepers 1 Syed Adney Syed Hussein GK 22 Sani Anuar Kamsani GK 25 Amirul Asyraf Suhaidi GK 40 Adam Zairi Fitri Zaini U21 GK Defenders 2 Mafry Balang RB / CB / LB / DM 3 Darwira Sazan CB 4 Brandon McDonald FP RB / CB / DM 6 Yong Kuong Yong RB / CB / LB / CM / RW / CF 18 Zulkhairi Zulkeply RB / CB / LB 19 Mohd Redzuan Suhaidi CB / LB / DM 26 Abdul Qayyum CB 27 K. Reuben RB / CB / DM 30 G. Mahathevan CB / DM — Reinaldo Lobo NR CB / DM Midfielders 5 Azidan Sarudin CM 8 Mohd Syukur Saidin DM / CM 11 Mohd Azrul Ahmad DM / CM / RB / RW / CF 15 Shazalee Ramlee DM / CM 20 Rafiuddin Rodin (Captain) CM / LB / LW 29 Elias Sulaiman CM / AM / LW / CF 35 Thivandaran a/l Karnan U21 LW/LM 1999 36 Khairul Akmal Rokisham U21 DM/CM 37 Mohamad Norfais Johari U21 AM/ CM Strikers 7 Jafri Firdaus Chew U21 RW / LW / AM / CF 9 Mark Hartmann FP CF 10 Nigel Dabinyaba FP RW / CF 12 S. Kumaahran U21 RW / LW / CF 13 Mohd Faiz Subri LW / CF 14 Syamer Kutty Abba U21 RW / LW / CF 16 Sanna Nyassi RW / LW / AM / CF 17 Faizat Ghazli RW / LW / AM / CF 21 Failee Ghazli RW / CF 23 R. Surendran AM / CF FP = Foreign player U21 = Under-21 player NR = Not registered
Transfers
In
Winter:
Date PlayerTransferred FromSource 13 January 2017 FW Nigel Dabinyaba Canterbury United FC 13 January 2017 DF K. Reuben Kuala Lumpur FA 13 January 2017 DF Yong Kuong Yong Terengganu FA 13 January 2017 MF Shazalee Ramlee Kuantan FA 13 January 2017 DF Zulkhairi Zulkeply UiTM F.C. 13 January 2017 GK Amirul Asyraf Suhaidi UiTM F.C. 13 January 2017 MF Diogo Ferreira Persib Bandung 13 January 2017 DF Andrew James Russell South China AA 18 Jan 2017 DF G. Mahathevan Megah Murni F.C. 18 Jan 2017 GK Syed Adney Syed Hussein T-Team F.C. Summer: Date PlayerTransferred FromSource 15 May 2017 DF Darwira Sazan Free agent 15 May 2017 MF Elias Sulaiman Free agent 18 May 2017 MF Azidan Sarudin Kuala Lumpur 18 May 2017 FW R. Surendran Free agent 19 May 2017 FW Sanna Nyassi Free agent 7 June 2017 FW Mark Hartmann Free agent 8 June 2017 DF Brandon McDonald Rovers FC
Out
Winter:
Date PlayerTransferred ToSource 1 December 2016 DF Mohd Fitri Omar Kedah 1 December 2016 DF Mazlizam Mohamad Perlis 1 December 2016 DF Mohd Farisham Ismail Kelantan loan return 1 December 2016 DF Mat Saiful Mohamad Retired 1 December 2016 MF Jeong Seok-min Released 1 December 2016 MF Mohd Redzuan Nawi MISC-MIFA 1 December 2016 MF Mohd Zharif bin Hasna Released 1 December 2016 MF Ikhmal Ibrahim Sime Darby F.C. 1 December 2016 MF Matias Córdoba PS Barito Putera 1 December 2016 MF Mohd Fauzan Dzulkifli PKNS FC 1 December 2016 MF Muhd Nursalam Zainal Abidin UiTM FC 1 December 2016 FW Ranti Martins SGFC Eagles Maryland 1 December 2016 GK Khairul Amri Salehuddin Perak 1 December 2016 GK Mohd Firdaus Muhamad Melaka United 19 January 2017 MF Elias Sulaiman Released 19 January 2017 DF Darwira Sazan Released Summer: Date PlayerTransferred ToSource 15 May 2017 DF Andrew James Russell Tai Po FC 15 May 2017 MF Diogo Ferreira Mohun Bagan AC
Pre-season
Competitions
Overview
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- !rowspan=2|Competition !colspan=8|Record |- ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! |- | Super League
| FA Cup
! Total
Super League
League table
Results summary
Matches
FA Cup
Statistics
Squad statistics PosPlayerSuper LeagueFA CupMalaysia CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals1GKSyed Adney7–1–––8–2DFMafry Balang18–1–––19–3DFDarwira Sazan—–––––—–4DFBrandon McDonald8–––––8–5MFAzidan Sarudin5(4)–––––5(4)–6DFYong Kuong Yong7(2)–––––7(2)–7FWJafri Chew7(5)1––––7(5)18MFSyukur Saidin5(3)12–––7(3)19FWMark Hartmann7(1)2––––7(1)210FWNigel Dabinyaba16(1)321––18(1)411MFMohd Azrul Ahmad12(4)–––––12(4)–12FWS. Kumaahran16(2)22–––18(2)213FWMohd Faiz Subri10(10)21(1)–––11(11)214FWSyamer Kutty Abba20(1)–1(1)–––21(2)–15MFShazalee Ramlee0(1)–––––0(1)–16FWSanna Nyassi83––––8317FWFaizat Ghazli12(4)–2–––14(4)–18DFZulkhairi Zulkeply9(3)–0(1)–––9(4)–19DFRedzuan Suhaidi4(5)–––––4(5)–20MFRafiuddin Rodin13(1)11–––14(1)121FWFailee Ghazli1(2)–––––1(2)–22GKSani Anuar Kamsani8(1)–1–––9(1)–23FWR. Surendran0(3)–––––0(3)–25GKAmirul Asyraf7(1)–––––7(1)–26DFAbdul Qayyum—–––––––27DFK. Reuben12(2)–2–––14(2)–30DFG. Mahathevan3–1–––4–35MFS. Thivandaran––––––––36MFKhairul Akmal Rokisham3(3)–––––3(3)–37MFNurfais Johari––––––––40GKAdam Zairi Fitri–––––––––DFReinaldo Lobo9121––112Players who left the club in May transfer window or on loan5MFD. Ferreira7–1–––8–23DFAndy Russell8–2–––10–
Goalscorers The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal. PlayerSuper LeagueFA CupMalaysia CupTotal1FW10 Nigel Dabinyaba31–42FW16 Sanna Nyassi30–33DF4 Reinaldo Lobo11–2FW9 Mark Hartmann20–2FW12 S. Kumaahran20–2FW13 Mohd Faiz Subri20–27FW7 Jafri Chew10–1MF8 Mohd Syukur Saidin10–1DF20 Rafiuddin Rodin10–1Own goal00–1Total162–18
Clean sheets The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal. PlayerSuper LeagueFA CupMalaysia CupTotal122 Sani Anuar11–2225 Amirul Asyraf10–131 Syed Adney00–0Total21–3
Disciplinary record
1 point and 3 points are allocated to each yellow card and red card respectively for ranking purposes.
Summary Games played 24 (22 Super League, 2 FA Cup)Games won 4 (3 Super League, 1 FA Cup)Games drawn 3 (3 Super League)Games lost 17 (16 Super League, 1 FA Cup) Goals scored 18 (16 Super League, 2 FA Cup)Goals conceded 47 (43 Super League, 4 FA Cup)Goal difference —29 (—27 Super League, —2 FA Cup) Clean sheets 3 (2 Super League, 1 FA Cup) Yellow cards 28 (26 Super League, 2 FA Cup)Red cards 2 (2 Super League)Most appearances Syamer Kutty Abba (23 Appearances)Top scorer Nigel Dabinyaba (4 goals)Winning Percentage Overall: 4/24 (16.66%)
References