KOTA BHARU — Kelantan FC head coach Alfredo Vera admitted that the lack of imported players in his squad was one of the reasons for the team’s crushing 2-11 defeat to Selangor FC in their Super League match at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, here last night.
However, the Argentinian did not blame the young players of the Kelantan FC team, saying they played their hearts out in the match.
“We didn’t have players who could dominate this match, especially imported players.
“The players we have are very young, they don’t have the experience, on average they have only played five Super League matches,” he told the post-match press conference.
In the space of a week, Kelantan FC have become whipping boys and conceding double-digit goals.
The team lost to JDT 0-10 on August 19, and last night saw their misery increase when they lost 2-11 to the Red Giants.
Vera said it was quite difficult for him to organise the tactics and strategy of the game without having enough good players.
“In the Super League, we play against strong opponents, but we can only rely on players under the age of 23 to play. It makes it very difficult for us.
“The players we have are not all qualified to play in the Super League and before they only played with a team of their peers (President’s Cup),” he said while holding back tears.
He said double-digit defeats to opposing teams were a new experience for him as a coach.
Meanwhile, Selangor FC head coach Tan Cheng Hoe said he did not expect his team to get a big win especially when they were behind 0-2 at the beginning of the game to Kelantan FC.
“I didn’t expect such a huge victory but the effort and hard work of the players as a team showed that they wanted to win tonight (last night).
“Kelantan FC’s two early goals caused us to lose focus because the pitch situation was not good.
“(Initially) the players lost control of the ball, but we cannot give that as an excuse,” he said.
He said that before the match he had reminded his players not to underestimate the ability of Kelantan FC.
“The two early goals gave me concern, but luckily my players reacted quickly to equalise and bring victory tonight (last night),” he said. — August 26, 2023