UITM SELF-DESTRUCT
Losing matches because of own mistakes, says coach Bernhardt
WITH one draw and five defeats so far in the Super League, UiTM FC have now become a relegation contender. On Saturday, the university side suffered their fifth defeat, losing 2-0 to Selangor in Shah Alam.
Oliver Buff (13th minute) and Ifedayo Omosuyi (40th) scored for the Red Giants.
Coach Frank Bernhardt described their latest defeat as a painful affair.
“It is a problem as some players with injuries had to play today. However, we should have kept a clean sheet (against Selangor). We conceded soft goals,” said Bernhardt on Saturday.
“My players should play to instructions and avoid doing things which could lead to soft goals.
“We are losing matches because of our own mistakes.”
Last season, UiTM did well by finishing sixth in the league. However, this year, the team are struggling due to the absence of former signings, Rabih Ataya, Mark Hartmann and Ousmane Fane.
“Let’s not talk about last year as we were lucky to sign several good players. This year’s foreign signings (Abou Bakr Al Mel and Nana Poku) are not as impressive as the ones last season.
“We will wait until midseason before deciding whether we should consider (changes).”
Selangor coach Karsten Neitzel said he was happy with the win.
“We, however, could not add more goals in the second half. We will now prepare for Tuesday’s (tomorrow) game against Kedah,” said Neitzel.
At the City Stadium, Penang coach Tomas Trucha was unhappy with his players’ performance despite the 2-1 win over Perak.
“The result is okay but not the performance. We did not defend well.
“The two centre-backs and the goalkeeper were okay, but we did not perform as a team,” said Trucha.
“We still need to work on ball possession.
“Our midfield was not compact, and we gave Perak players room to operate freely in the middle of the park.”
Penang scored through Casagrande (43rd) and Rafael Vitor Santos (70th) after Raianderson Morais had given the visitors the lead in the 11th minute.