Terengganu tame Young Crocs with resolve and penalty
MIRI: Tempers among players and fans ran high at Miri Stadium yesterday as visiting Terengganu FC III edged Sarawak 2-1 in their President Cup clash.
A fair amount of pushing and shoving between players on the pitch led to some spectators shouting and booing. It also appeared that items including plastic bottles were thrown into the field.
Fortunately, authorities on the ground kept control of the situation . Some match officials including the referee were escorted at the end of the game.
Sarawak drew first blood when Amirrul Iqmal Bolhi scored in the 16th min.
Te r eng g anu, d e fend i ng champion i n t he Under- 19 tournament, equalised through Muhammad Syafiq Danial Mohd Romzi ten minutes later.
The winning goal resulted from a penalty converted by Wan Mohamad Fazli Wan Ghazali just before the first half ended.
Sarawak head coach Abdul Jalil Ramli felt that the failure of some of hs players to control their feelings did contribute to the defeat.
“We understand that the fans are disappointed because after three games playing at home, the Sarawak team are still unable to win any one of them with full points. We were determined to win this game even though we were up against such a great team,” he said.
“However, the failure of our players to control their feelings resulted in the loss of 2-1 with the penalty ( being) the turning point in this game.”
Meanwhile, Terengganu head coach Badrul Afzan Razal i expressed satisfaction with his team’s mental strength.
He said prior to the game he had reminded his players to always be patient on the field and stay focussed on the game.
A crowd of about 700 turned up to watch the match.
Sarawak will next face Kuala Lumpur on March 30 at Miri Stadium at 4.15pm.