KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Perak midfielder Brendan Gan Seng Ling feels what he went through in life prepared him for an epic Malaysia Cup finals where he was named man-of-the-match and won his first major title as Perak went home with their eighth Malaysia Cup.

Brendan scored the second goal in stoppage time of the second half to make the score 2-2 after Perak had two goals disallowed and a man sent off. It’s a remarkable turnaround for the 31-year-old who has had two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in two years on both knees. 

The first was in the right knee in 2015 with Kelantan and then the left knee in 2016 when on duty with the national team in Indonesia. He contemplated quitting the game but now he’s won his first title with Perak, he can reflect on his journey.

“Last year was a very hard year for me so just to be on the field was a great feeling and the Malaysia Cup’s a bonus,” said Brendan.

“When we were down and struggling to find a way to equalise, then extra-time and penalties I wasn’t fazed at all. It’s nothing compared to what I’ve had to go through in life. 

“My main goal was to try to get the boys motivated and not be worried about the mistakes. It seemed to work at the time.”

Perak’s relentless attacks caused a goal mouth melee and when the ball went free, Brendan raced towards it and struck with his left foot shooting the ball into the roof of the net.

Brendan was asked after the match how it felt to score as he rarely does and he jokingly answered: “Yeah, I say it in training all the time I save my goals for the important games. Jokes aside, the ball fell to me and it had to go in. I’ve never used my left foot before but decided to use it just for that occasion.

“The pitch was pretty heavy with the rain before the game and I am disappointed I couldn’t finish the game (substituted in the 93rd minute for Nashir Basharudin).

“But we are a family team. We’re all close and hang out a lot together and I believe that’s the key to us winning today. We hadn’t talked about who would take penalties. We went with who was confident at the time.

“In the end you could see how good our keeper was. He did a fantastic job.”