Perak fail to cope with counter-attack, Zahasmi hails 'precious' win

BY         NIK AFIQ        Follow on Twitter

Kelantan head coach Zahasmi Ismail believes that his side's league win against Perak is a really meaningful one.

The Red Warriors came back from a goal down to win the game 4-2 in Ipoh and according to Zahasmi, it was a great effort by the players.

Speaking after the game, Zahasmi said the tactical change worked in their favor because they got the win in the end.

“I must congratulate my players because they managed to push on and collect a very precious three points away from home, despite going up against a tough Perak side and on a very bad pitch.”

“When we win, it means the strategy that we use works, and if we lose, it means that the strategy doesn’t work. Whatever it is, I am happy with the win.”

For newly-appointed Perak boss Mehmet Durakovic, he admitted that the team conceded soft goals, and that they should have converted the chances that they got in the first half.

Mehmet Durakovic during the match. Photo by Vincent Phoon/CSN

He also admitted that they were caught by the counter-attacking football played by Kelantan in the second half.

“It was a tough challenge for us. First half we should have scored at least three, four goals and that’s football. If you don’t put your chances away, sooner or later you’ll get hammered.”

“We tried to push forward, but they caught us with counterattack, and when you don’t pick up, they will score goals and it was very unfortunate for us because we played well in the first half.”

Mohamad Ghaddar scored a hat-trick, with Indra Putra Mahyuddin also scoring for Kelantan, while Vladislav Mirchev scored both Perak's goals.

Perak are currently fifth in the league with eleven points, followed closely by Kelantan in sixth, although the Red Warriors have one game in hand.