KUALA LUMPUR: KL City coach Bojan Hodak is worried about his leaky defence, but he will need the management's green light to bring in reinforcements during the second transfer window from May 28-June 24.
On Tuesday, the City Boys ended their two-match losing streak by beating bottom-of-the-table Penang 3-2 at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras. The win put them in fifth spot in the 12-team Super League.
The Malaysia Cup champions raced to a 3-0 lead with goals from J. Partiban (43rd minute), Romel Morales (55th) and Zhafri Yahya (78th) while the Panthers replied through Endrick Dos Santos (80th) and Hilal El-Helwe (87th).
Hodak said his men grew tired in the last 20 minutes and allowed the visitors to reduce the deficit.
Last season, Hodak's men had the second-best defensive record in the Super League, conceding only 20 goals but this season they have already let in 15 goals in eight matches. And this has raised questions about the team's defence.
"We played well and took a 3-0 lead in the opening 70 minutes. After that fatigue started to creep in as we had played three days ago. Penang were fresher and managed to capitalise on the situation," said Hodak.
"Our midfield started to lose shape due to tiredness, and they started to make mistakes, especially individual mistakes. And this is something that we need to rectify fast."
Hodak said KL City's transfer window activity depends on their financial situation, and he could only keep his fingers crossed.
"I can bring in players but it also depends on our budget, and I leave this to the management," said the Croatian.
"The team have players who can play in different positions like Irfan Zakaria and D. Kenny Palraj. We also have young players who are ready but we need to do it carefully as they lack experience."
SUPER LEAGUE RESULTS
KL City 3 Penang 2
PJ City 3 Kedah 3