KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor coach Katushito Kinoshi believes last week’s “catastrophic” 2-1 loss to Negri Sembilan became the spark behind his team’s great response as they trounced Terengganu 5-2 at MBPJ Stadium on Wednesday.
“I’m happy with the players’ recovery from that catastrophic loss. They showed pride and found a way to win,” said Kinoshi.
“Football always comes with problems — fitness, mentality, lapses — but what matters is to progress, solve them and convince our supporters that Selangor are a good team.”
However, the Japanese coach admitted his frustration at Selangor‘s habit of conceding after the break.
Nonetheless, Kinoshi singled out hat-trick hero Chrigor Moraes and flu-stricken captain Noor Al Rawabdeh for their fighting spirit.
“Moraes has the potential to keep scoring goals. Noor told me that he was sick before the match but insisted on playing. That’s the mentality we need,” said Kinoshi.
Terengganu coach Badrul Afzan Razali was less forgiving of his players’ mistakes.
“We played well in the first 10 minutes, but after our goal was disallowed, we made too many simple mistakes, especially in communication at the back.
“We conceded four easy goals. That was the turning point.”
Selangor surged to a 4-0 lead in the first half through goals from Moraes (17th, 36th and 45th+2) with Alvin Fortes adding another in the 25th minute. Aliff Izwan Yuslan added another (90th+6).
Terengganu replied through Gabriel Costa (69th-minute penalty), Junior Stephen Ngong (82nd).
At KL City, coach Risto Vidakovic lauded his players’ resilience in their 3-1 win over Police, describing them as “survivors” after a gruelling run.
“We started late, players have only just arrived, many are not 100 per cent fit. But they gave everything,” said Vidakovic.
Safawi Rasid opened the scoring for KL in the 25th minute, followed by Paulo Josue in the 53rd and Nicolao Dumitru in the 77th. Police grabbed a late consolation through Myanmar international Kyaw Min Oo in the 90th minute.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
