Terengganu, their confidence sky-high after defeating Selangor to qualify for the Malaysia Cup final, believe they can do the double.
Having won the FA Cup in June, the Turtles will face Negri Sembilan in the Cup final at the Shah Alam Stadium this Saturday.
While Terengganu beat Selangor 4-1 on aggregate, Negri Sembilan overcame T-Team 6-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
And Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti credited the players for sticking to the game plan in knocking out Selangor, especially in the hard-fought second-leg match at the Sultan Ismail Stadium last Saturday.
“It was a difficult game as Selangor came out looking for goals. But my men played according to our strategy – by hitting them on the break – and we managed to score a goal in each half,” he said.
“We could have scored more goals, with Ashaari Samsudin and Joseph Kalang coming close on a few occasions.
“Overall, I am satisfied with the team’s performance and we would like to dedicate our fine run in the competition to our loyal fans.”
Irfan reserved special praise for striker Abdul Manaf Mamat for “working his socks off upfront and scoring in both legs of the semi-finals”.
Irfan said his men were all fit and that they resumed training yesterday itself in preparation for the final.
“We will work on improving our weaknesses. We have a great chance to win the Malaysia Cup again after last lifting it in 2001,” said Irfan.
Meanwhile, Selangor coach P. Maniam acknowledged that the Red Giants were simply outclassed and outmatched by the Turtles.
“Terengganu played very well and it was hard for us to keep pace with them. We had a lot of chances to get back into the game but our finishing let us down,” he said.
He, was, however, proud of his men for reaching the semi-finals of the competition.
“We will bounce back next season,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment