Irfan slams his men's performance, rues Kipre's absence following defeat

Zulhilmi Zainal

Irfan slams his men's performance, rues Kipre's absence following defeat image


BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter


After his side fell to a 3-1 defeat to Pahang at home in their Malaysia Super League (MSL) match on Tuesday, Terengganu head coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim has criticised his side's performance.

Speaking in the post-match interview with the match broadcaster, the experienced coach criticised his men's performance and their lack of intensity.

"We did not lose because we weren't lucky, we simply deserved to lose. One of our weaknesses is one-versus-one situations, whereby Pahang attackers get past us very easily. This led to their first two goals, and should not have happened! 

"It wasn't just the defenders; the whole team played poorly. Only in the second half did we played more aggressively," said Irfan.

He also rued his forwards' failure to put away their chances in the match.

"But what affected us was also Tchetche (forward Tchetche Kipre's) absence in attack. We had two clear chances in the match; one had by Bruno (Suzuki) and the other by Partiban Janasekaran.

"But that's football. We have to improve now, as we have not won two back-to-back league matches," he remarked.

Pahang's Patrick Cruz netted a brace in the match with his 38th and 53rd minute goals, but Lee Tuck pulled one back for the hosts in the 73rd minute with his penalty. Youngster Faisal Halim restored the visitors' two-goal lead with his last-gasp goal.

Zulhilmi Zainal