It was a bad day at the office! Terengganu coach Mat Zan Mat Aris said the 2-1 loss to Kelantan in the East Coast derby at Sultan Mohamad (IV) Stadium in Kota Baru had nothing to do with recently circulated rumours about players' revolt in the Terengganu camp.
Mat Zan, who was disappointed with the overall performance of his players, said too many mistakes were made in the middle while not enough goal scoring chances were created up front.
"These things happen in football as one team cannot be expected to perform their best in all their matches but this has nothing to do with any kind of rift between players in our camp.
"A few chinks in our armour were showing in our home draw with Selangor PKNS on Wednesday and it had become worse in the match against Kelantan," he said.
Mat Zan said Terengganu were not playing their usual brand of football and had made Kelantan looked good throughout the entire match.
"The most important thing is for us not to lose sight of the big picture after a couple of bad matches. We have to get back on our feet quickly before Kedah come visiting on Tuesday (tomorrow)," said Mat Zan.
Meanwhile, Kelantan coach Peter Butler said his side were dominant against Terengganu and could have won by a bigger margin.
"Terengganu are known for their fast attacking football but we found a way to nullify their threat up front.
"All our players did well and we practically played with only one foreign player on the pitch," said Butler, who was full of praise for newly signed Obinna Nwaneiri.
The Nigerian defender, who made his debut for Kelantan on Saturday, is a replacement for Ghanaian midfielder Danny Antwi who has been transfered to the team's AFC Cup squad.
Butler also praised the match officials for preventing any untoward incident from happening in the usually volatile East Coast derby.
But Kelantan's Red Warriors Supporters Club president Wan Zaini Wan Zain said that some home fans were riled up by the gestures of a Terengganu player just after the referee blew the final whistle.
"That was just a small, isolated incident and I am happy to say that supporters from both camps are more civilised these days," said Wan Zaini.
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