KUALA TERENGGANU: Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim believes that his charges are still not firing on all cylinders after they failed to defeat opponents PKNS at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium last night (Friday) in their opening match of the new Super League season.
In the match that ended in a 1-1 draw, the home side dominated proceedings and had many chances that came their way which they wasted.
“In the first half of the match we had all the space and created many chances to score but sadly the players could not get the ball in the back of the net, and it was the same for the second half as the opposition goalkeeper pulled off a string of saves.
“Based on the amount of chances that came our way, there were seven good opportunities to score compared to our opponents who only had two, but still they managed to get on the scoresheet.
“However I cannot fault any of my players, it’s just that perhaps our goalkeeper could have prevented PKNS from scoring their goal, though he did very well tonight (Friday),” said Irfan.
During the match, the visitors stunned Terengganu by taking the lead through a header from Nicholas Ryan Swirad before Terengganu levelled the score through forward Malik Mat Ariff in the dying minutes of the match.
Speaking further, Irfan praised his charges for their sheer determination even though they almost ended up being embarrassed at home by PKNS.
He said that the absence of midfield enforcer Lee Tuck was not really felt, even though at times they were slow off the blocks in carrying out counter attacks compared to when they had the Englishman on the field.
“The players did not give up easily and they played their hearts out so they deserve praise even though we almost lost at home, as they bounced back to score the equaliser in the last minute of the match to grab a point,” said a relieved Irfan.