Coach
confident of making final
KELANTAN
coach Bojan Hodak described his team’s performance in their 1-0 Malaysia Cup
semi-final, first leg win over Selangor
as ‘classy’ and ‘exceptionally encouraging.’
Norfarhan
Muhd’s strike in the 63rd minute was enough to secure Kelantan a win on
Saturday but the east coast side should have won by a bigger margin.
After
having won the Super League and FA Cup this season, Kelantan are now the
favourites to advance to the final, but Selangor could deny them the chance of
a first domestic treble in the return leg on Friday.
“We
have done well in the first 90 minutes, and although we should have added two
or three more goals, a 1-0 win over Selangor is an encouraging result,” said
Hodak yesterday.
“Except
for the opening 15 minutes, Selangor did not look dangerous at all. I am also
happy that our defence, led by S. Subramaniam, did well to keep a clean sheet.”
It
was Kelantan’s first clean sheet at home since their 6-0 victory over Perak in
a Super League match in July.
The
win also meant that Kelantan had ended their season undefeated in Kota Baru,
stretching their run to 33 matches (in all competitions) since the 2-1 loss to
T-Team in May, last year.
“I
am definitely proud of Kelantan’s unbeaten home record. We, however, should now
shift our focus to the return leg if we want to make history.
“It
is never easy playing Selangor in Shah Alam. They will play an aggressive game
and we need to think of a perfect strategy to stop their pursuit,” said Hodak.
Selangor,
meanwhile, will not only need to bounce back in the return leg but also
reshuffle their back-line after centre-back Nasriq Baharom was red-carded on
Saturday.
Selangor
failed to impose themselves in midfield and were a disappointment in attack.
Goalkeeper Norazlan Razali was Selangor’s saviour as he fouled Kelantan’s
countless attempts to keep his team in the tie.
Former
Croatian international Bosko Balaban and captain Safiq Rahim could have scored
from set-pieces while the much-talked about Amri Yahyah, who has scored 12
goals this season, failed to inspire in Kota Baru.
“We
did not play well. I do not know the reason behind it; however, the tie is
still open. I am confident we will overturn the result in Shah Alam and qualify
for the final,” said Selangor coach Irfan Bakti.
Selangor,
third in the league and second round casualties in the FA Cup this season, have
not won a title in two years and have not lifted the Malaysia Cup since 2005.
Failure
to win the Cup for a 33rd time could lead to Selangor losing their star
players, who are becoming increasingly impatient with the team’s title-less
performance.
Safiq
is one of the most sought after players and the national captain, whose
contract ends on Nov 30, is planning to join Johor. – www.nst.com.my
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