SEREMBAN: Coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim praised his Terengganu FC (TFC) players for showing their true character in not giving up which enabled them to defeat Negri Sembilan 2-1 in their own backyard of the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi during last night’s (Friday) Super League match.
Irfan said that although is charges were jolted at first by Mohd Fakrul Aiman’s equaliser in the 72nd minute, they managed to regain their composure and played to win which bore fruit thanks to substitute Lee Jun-hyeob’s goal in the very last minute of the match.
"The players deserve the praise because they did not just give, up but instead fought hard for the winning goal which came in the very last minute of the match.
"As soon as Negri Sembilan scored the equaliser, I advised our players to maintain their focus in grinding out a win and they managed to do just that.
"I am very pleased with their performance tonight (Friday night) as all the players showed a high level of commitment which is what we expect of them,” he said after the match.
Irfan added that their ability to snatch three points from their opponents while playing away from home was anything but easy, but his players were able to deliver thus maintaining their unbeaten record in four league matches.
Irfan also commented that Negri Sembilan’s performance was better compared to when they went down 3-0 to Melaka United, but discipline and teamwork among the Turtles squad players were the key factors that enabled them to prevail over their opponents.
"I am also satisfied with Ashaari Samsudin’s performance as he is showing just how dangerous he can be in front of goal and he scored our first goal which was what the team needed.
"We controlled part of the first half and produced many goalscoring opportunities.
"If only we could have realised all those opportunities in front of goal then the scoreline would have been higher and we would have been able to kill off our opponents even sooner,” he said.
Irfan is confident that their second win of the campaign will lift the players spirits and confidence for the coming matches. Terengganu’s first win of the season was the 4-1 thrashing of Selangor on February 10 at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu.
"I just hope the players will not rest on their laurels and instead remain focused as our challenge in the Super League has only just begun and the team needs to keep the momentum going if we are to continue with our winning ways,” he said.
TFC now have eight points from four matches, winning two and drawing the other two.