JOHOR BAHRU: It is always painful and difficult in coming to terms with defeat, but Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) coach Raul Longhi sees the 3-0 home loss to Pahang in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last night (Saturday) as something inevitable that could not be avoided.
According to Longhi, JDT’s first eleven who took to the field at Larkin Stadium gave 100 per cent commitment during the match but lady luck was not on their side and they had to accept the fact that they slipped up and ended up losing.
The defensive line’s failure in staying calm and composed gave room to the Pahang players to surge ahead into JDT’S half to create chances and score in the first half, and the second goal literally killed off any hopes the Southern Tigers had of clawing their way back into the match.
"It was a very different match to Super League action as all of you could see for yourselves, Pahang played a fast paced game and they were swift in punishing our defense,” lamented Longhi.
"Tonight (Friday) our players did not perform consistently and after our opponents scored their second goal, it obviously broke our players spirit.
"The Pahang players capitalised on our weak defensive line with swift counter attacks and long balls into our half, and when our defenders were caught napping they went ahead and scored.”
Longhi also pointed out that when players are caught out napping, then the team will end up getting punished.
When asked about captain Safiq Rahim only coming on in the second half, Longhi explained that their strategy against Pahang was to field the same line-up that defeated PKNS FC in the Super League last Saturday.
"The first-eleven that featured in the win over PKNS FC displayed exemplary performance which is why I retained the same line-up to take on Pahang in the FA Cup.
“However, they failed to produce a match-winning performance as they did last weekend, and what has happened is now history, so we need to continue with our fight and quest in the Super League as that is now our main objective.
"We must recover our focus to face the coming matches so as to triumph in the Super League,” stressed Longhi.