KUCHING: Kuching City FC assistant head coach Sulaiman Hussin has pointed out that simple mistakes led to their 2-1 loss to Penang FC in the Malaysia Super League match at City Stadium last Thursday.
However, he did acknowledge that there was a marked improvement in the players’ performance compared to previous matches.
We played well in the first half but due to one mistake from our goalkeeper, it gave Penang FC a way back into the game.
“In a match like this, we have to avoid basic mistakes and due to that error in the first half and the space given to Soony Saad that led to the winning goal, we lost the game.”
Kuching City’s experienced goalkeeper Norazlan Razali made a grave mistake just before half-time, misjudging the flight of a free-kick swung in by Faris Shah down the right flank.
The ball slipped through his gloves and was eventually poked in by Khairul Akmal into the empty net.
“In my opinion, with the experience he has under his belt, he should have punched the ball out of the danger area instead of trying to catch it.
“The mistake happened and to me, it is just a matter of deciding what was the best decision in that split second, and the decision-making at the time was the wrong one which gave Penang a way back into the game and eventually their winning goal,” Sulaiman added.
The defeat was the team’s eighth in the league, leaving them in 12th place after 10 games.
Kuching City will host runaway leaders JDT on May 19 at Stadium Negeri in what looks like a tough match even before the first whistle has been blown.
