ALOR SETAR: Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC head coach Mohd Nafuzi Mohd Zain hopes his team’s excellent performance against Sri Pahang FC last night can be maintained to face the remaining matches which will be increasingly challenging.
He said the team spirit and high discipline on display as well as the actions of the players who played with “character” last night was indeed a much different team strategy than when they lost 1-3 to Perak FC in Ipoh recently.
“Alhamdulillah, congratulations to the players, tonight (last night) is very different from the game against Perak where we gave a lot of space to Perak,” he told reporters after KDA FC’s match with Sri Pahang FC at the Darul Aman Stadium here last night.
The Canaries beat the Elephants 2-0.
He said that in order to win a match, all players need to function well in their respective areas because a weakness in any area will affect the functioning of the team as a whole.
Regarding J. Partiban who took over from Lee Tuck as the team’s left winger, Mohd Nafuzi said Partiban has his own strengths and managed to prove his role in the team by scoring one goal.
“Lee Tuck has his own energy and Partiban also has his energy, in terms of his running…but I think Partiban has shown his ability by scoring a goal, and playing up to 90 minutes,” he said.
Meantime, Mohd Nafuzi said some of the team’s weaknesses, especially in defence, still need to be improved.
“For me, even though we won, we were still weak in defence… to compete and go far, we have to be stronger and better than before,” said the coach, who is confident that KDA FC can finish in second place in the league if they maintain their current performance.
Meanwhile, Sri Pahang FC head coach Fandi Ahmad said, his players played well and created many scoring opportunities, but the lack of tactical discipline caused them to lose at Darul Aman Stadium.
“We had planned but it didn’t happen, but we had chances to score and there were a few good chances, but what I know is that Kedah played better tonight (last night),” he said. – BERNAMA
