KUALA LUMPUR: Lim Teong Kim's maiden foray as a senior team coach did not go as planned, as his nine-man Perak side were thrashed 4-1 by Kedah in Saturday's Super League match in Ipoh.
Teong Kim, a former assistant coach of Bayern Munich's youth team, admitted it was difficult for Perak to match Kedah with only nine players on the pitch.
"We also lost because we have many young and inexperienced players. We gave Kedah too much space to attack and create chances.
"Although the result is a hard pill to swallow, my players worked hard and showed good fighting spirit," Teong Kim told Bernama after the match at Perak Stadium.
In the Northern derby, the Bos Gaurus ended the first half with 10 players when referee Zulkarnain Zakaria sent defender Ahmad Haziq Ahmad Puad off in the 36th minute for a foul on Kedah's Amirbek Juraboev.
Perak suffered another body blow in the 78th minute when their foreign signing Sunday Afolabi was red-carded for a foul on Manuel Hidalgo.
Teong Kim's side scored first through Ikwan Hafizo in the fourth minute.
Lee Tuck (21st minute), Willian Sousa (67th), Arif Farhan (84th) and Johnathan Dos Reis (90th) scored for Kedah.
Teong Kim said the defeat should serve as a lesson and motivation for his players to work harder ahead of the next match.
"There are still many matches to play, and we have time to rectify our weaknesses," he added.
Perak will take on Police in their next match on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Kedah coach Nafuzi Zain praised Perak players for their fighting spirit.
"Congratulations to the home team because their players, who are mostly young, produced an energetic performance that made it difficult for us," said Nafuzi.
"Kedah are not a complete item yet. We must keep improving to maintain the momentum going into our next match against Terengganu on Wednesday.