KUANTAN, Augt 21 — The right combination of Sri Pahang FC players managed to help the team secure a 2-0 victory over Harini FT at home yesterday in the second leg of the round of 16 in the Malaysia Cup competition at the Darul Makmur Stadium here, said Sri Pahang FC head coach Fandi Ahmad.
With the victory, the Elephants advanced to the quarter-finals on a 5-2 aggregate.
Fandi was clearly satisfied with the performance displayed by his men who managed to translate the planning during training well, especially in the second half of the match.
“What we trained (for), that’s what the players did, which is the planning to attack from the wings that resulted in us getting two goals.
“It is not easy to face a team that has a high fighting spirit, who also play quite hard but thankfully our players were quite calm with the situation on the pitch,” he told reporters after the match last night.
In the match, team captain and striker Kpah Sherman emerged as the hero by scoring both goals, in the 42nd and 51st minutes respectively.
Fandi said the early goal scored by Sherman succeeded in bringing down the fighting spirit of the Harini FT players, thus allowing the team to win.
On August 4, Sri Pahang beat Harini FT 3-2 in the first leg at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi, Negeri Sembilan.
Meanwhile, Harini FT coach, P. Maniam said he accepted the defeat with an open heart because he realised there were still many weaknesses that needed to be improved in the team.
“(In) The first half we defended well while counter-attacking, we also had a golden opportunity but then made a mistake that allowed Sherman to score.
“If we had managed to score a goal, it would have put more pressure on Sri Pahang. Overall, we have good tactics and only conceded two goals to teams that is at a different level,” he said. — Bernama
