TFC Coach Pleased With Team’s Performance

KUALA NERUS, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Terengganu FC (TFC) interim head coach Tengku Hazman Raja Hassan expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City FC) in the first-leg Malaysia Cup quarter-final at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium (SSMZA) here last night.

The Kelantan-born coach said the players worked hard to create as many chances as possible to ensure the Turtles could take a comfortable advantage into the second-leg quarter-final in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 13.

However, he said the pressure of facing a strong side like KL City FC led to mistakes and lapses in concentration, which resulted in his team conceding a late equaliser.

“Overall, I am satisfied with the commitment shown by the players. However, a lack of concentration in the closing stages saw us punished with an equalising goal, despite leading 1-0 until the 83rd minute.

“When playing against a big team, we can see that KL City FC have individual strengths, especially in midfield. But, alhamdulillah, we were able to match their quality,” he said after the match against The City Boys last night.

Tengku Hazman said he has always been confident in his players’ abilities and hopes the same mistakes will not be repeated in the upcoming second-leg quarter-final.

Meanwhile, KL City FC head coach Risto Vidakovic described TFC as the toughest opponents to break down, citing the presence of quality players and a strong fighting spirit.

According to him, the inclusion of new striker Gervane Kastaneer from Curaçao has also helped to further strengthen the Turtles’ attacking line.

“I think we played a very good game today. We controlled almost the entire match. Overall, I am satisfied with the result.

“We still have 90 minutes to play in Kuala Lumpur and need to focus on the next match. I expect much more from my players because it will be a very, very tough game in KL,” he said.

-- BERNAMA