GUA Musang emerged as champions of football’s General Director of Felda Cup after coming away with a 2-0 win over Terengganu last weekend.
Though rated as underdogs in the second round, Gua Musang continued their fine run.
They did not crumble under pressure as they knew that a draw was enough to seal the title for them.
“It was an intense battle as we, the whole team, knew what was at stake.
“We took things a bit too cautiously in the first half which could have backfired as Terengganu missed a handful of chances.
“But somehow, we managed to turn the game around and come away with a win,” said Gua Musang head coach Tuan Addni Engku Abdul Rahman.
Terengganu were clearly unlucky as they dominated the match from the opening whistle and could have spoilt the party for Gua Musang, but somehow the score remained at 0-0 at half time.
It was the host who eventually drew first blood through Ahmad Syiham Mohamad and the title was sealed minutes later when Mohamad Imran Che Rozi doubled Gua Musang’s lead.
Terengganu head coach Mohd Sharul Abdul Rahman said: “We knew that we needed a miracle to somehow turn the tide in favour for us.
“If we had managed to convert all the chances that came our way in the first have, we could have made the impossible possible.”
After firing blanks in the opening 45 minutes, Terengganu shifted to a more attacking formation for the second half while Gua Musang also made some tactical changes.
Addni added: “I took a cautious approach and opted for a 4-5-1 formation at the beginning, and it did not work and we were lucky to come away from half time with the score tied.
“In the second half I shifted our formation to the normal 4-4-2 and it immediately helped us.”
Gua Musang will now go on to play in the Piala Tan Sri which will begin tomorrow.
“The team’s performance grew from our very first game during the group stages and after a long journey, I am happy to see my boys lift the title.
“Now I will need to sharpen them up even more as we have the Piala Tan Sri to look to next and we hope to carry our fine form into that tournament.”