Penang FC Paid The Price For Costly Errors, Says Wan Rohaimi

 GEORGE TOWN, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Penang FC head coach Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail admitted that the players’ negligence was the reason his squad lost to Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC in their Super League match last night.

He said although the players had displayed an energetic performance throughout the match, lapses in defence caused his team to be punished with two easy goals.

He said the second goal, which came from a set-piece situation, should have been prevented if the players had been more focused and quicker in closing down the opponent.

“Perhaps there was a collision when the goalkeeper made the clearance, but the referee did not consider it a foul and my players stopped as if waiting for the whistle, when they should have continued playing.

“As a result, the opponent managed to unleash a long-range shot from about 30 metres without any challenge. Goals like this could actually have been avoided if the players were more focused,” he said at the post-match press conference at the City Stadium here last night.

Although disappointed with two consecutive home defeats, Wan Rohaimi remained satisfied with the fighting spirit shown by his players throughout the match and is confident the Panthers can bounce back when facing Kelantan The Real Warriors (TRW) FC on Aug 30.

At the same time, Wan Rohaimi also praised the solid performance of young defender Mohammad Khairul Akmal Rukisham before he was stretchered off following an injury due to a clash with an opposing player.

Meanwhile, KL City FC head coach Risto Vidakovic described last night’s victory as important to restore the players’ confidence after the defeat to Kelantan TRW in the first round of the FA Cup last week.

He said his team is still in the process of building because pre-season started late and many new players were brought in, but they have shown positive development.

“We also dropped two points against Sabah after conceding in the final minutes, but this is something we need to look at again because we will face PDRM FC in two days. I hope all the players will recover before that match,” he said.

Last night’s match saw Penang FC continue to struggle in search of their first win, losing 1-2 with the home side’s only goal scored by team captain Stefano Brundo in the 48th minute, while KL City’s goals were contributed by Muhammad Safawi Rasid and Mohamad Kamal Azizi in the 34th and 77th minutes respectively.

-- BERNAMA