KUANTAN, March 24 — Sri Pahang FC deserved to win because they performed better than Manjung City FC in their first round knockout match of the FA Cup at the Darul Makmur Stadium here last night, said their head coach Cristophe Gamel.
Gamel said his men mounted more attacks but failed to prise the opponent’s goal.
“Playing offensively in a game is harder than playing defensively, this is what happened to us.
“We managed to create 29 chances to score but wasted them leading to extra time and then the penalty shootout,” he told the post-match press conference.
In the match, Sri Pahang recorded a 5-4 victory over Manjung City FC in the penalty shootout after both teams were tied goalless when extra time ended.
Gamel said overall he admired the fighting spirit displayed by his men even though most of them were still less fit after being infected with Covid-19 recently.
“Being infected with Covid-19 is a common situation around the world at the moment and I am reluctant to make it a big issue, but as a football team we have to accept the fact that it greatly affects team preparation.
“This is also my first official match with the team and we are still in the process of learning with many new players to coach,” he said.
Meanwhile, Manjung City FC coach Rafae Isa said he was very satisfied with the performance of his players, noting that they were able to curb the movement of Sri Pahang’s imported players.
“Our team does not have imported players but can play on par with teams that have imported players such as Sri Pahang.
“Key to the outcome until the penalty shootout was that they followed the plan that I had set out for them and it was translated well on the pitch,” he said.
Rafae added that now that their FA Cup challenge was over, they would focus on continuing their progress in the M3 League with the target of at least occupying the top four positions. — Bernama