Aiman Nazirmuddin
Football Tribe Malaysia
Failure in front of goal was described as the cause of Perak’s 2-4 to Kedah in the Super League at the Darul Aman Stadium yesterday, according to Bos Gaurus assistant chief coach Mohd Shahril Nizam Khalil.
Perak went ahead with Shahrul Saad’s goal in the 29th minute before Kedah equalized in the 40th minute through N Thanabalan and managed to establish a lead through Renan Alves five minutes later.
Perak earned an equalizer of the 78th with Ronaldo Silva’s penalty kick but Fernando Rodriguez scored two goals at the end of the game ensured Kedah picked up three full points.
“My players played attacking football (yesterday) and we created a lot of attacking chances but we did not complete the game by scoring goals,” said Mohd Shahril.
“Although the players have been doing the best attack, the failure of the attacking machinery to score enough in this game is a major factor that disappoints Perak.”
Meanwhile, Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) manager Luciano Figueroa complimented his squad, who showed the champion’s character as they beat Kuala Lumpur 4-0 at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras yesterday.
The victory means that the Southern Tigers being immortal without any defeat and what the players had shown to make their mission to end the unbeaten season was becoming a reality.
“It’s a good game and I’m happy with the team and the players, [who] are working hard. Four goals are not an easy task and the whole team deserves praise,” he said when speaking to the media after the match.
In the game, Diogo Luis Santo scored twice in the 28th and 70th minutes, with the other two cominf=g from Gonzalo Cabrera and Nazmi Faiz Mansor.
Lastly, Selangor coach B Sathianathan admitted he was satisfied with his entire line-up of players who beat PJ City FC 3-0 at the Shah Alam Stadium yesterday. The outstanding play shown by the Red Giants clearly delighted their coach.
However, he has not forgotten to remind his men to focus on the last league game against PKNS on July 20th.
“Now we need to focus on another difficult game to face PKNS, a team that beat us 4-0 in the first round of the league,” Sathianathan said after the match.
“Thanks to all the players, because they are working very hard. What is most important is that we did not give up but the move and delivery are good.”
“Overall, I am happy with the likes of Khyril Muhymeen Zambri and Ifedayo Olusegun and we can see the confidence of the team is growing.”
Selangor is now fourth in the league and share 34 points with third-placed Kedah, after playing 21 matches.