Magrao credits players’ fighting spirit for lifting title

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur coach Fabio Magrao was full of praise for his players after they ended a 17-year title drought by clinching the second-tier Premier League title.

The City boys slumped to a 3-1 loss to Johor Darul Ta’zim II (JDT II) at the Pasir Gudang Stadium in their final league match on Friday but still clinched the Premier League crown when title rivals Terengganu capitulated 3-1 to PKNP at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh.

That saw KL finishing top of the 12-team Premier League standings ahead of Terengganu on better goal difference after both teams accumulated 47 points.

Brazilian Magrao, who replaced compatriot Wanderley Junior in April, has lost just two of the 14 league games since taking over. The 40-year-old coach credited his players’ fighting spirit for their success.

“I’m proud of them. A coach can do only so much in training. In the end, it’s all up to the players during a game. When I took charge of the team, I saw they had the potential to be champions,” said Magrao, who celebrates his 40th birthday today.

“The players showed great commitment in training and were hungry for success. We took it one game at a time and now we have finished the season as champions. It’s all due to their hard work.”

The title seemed to have slipped away from KL’s grasp when JDT II raced 2-0 ahead with goals from Jeronimo Barrales (third minute) and D. Saarvindran (20th). At the same time, Terengganu had taken a sixth-minute lead over PKNP through Kipre Tchetche at the Perak Stadium.

But the title race turned to KL’s favour when PKNP staged a comeback in the second half to win with goals from Gilberto Fortunato (51st), Kim Hyeon-woo (65th) and an own goal by Terengganu defender Lazaro Vinicius (67th).

Back at the Pasir Gudang Stadium, the drama continued as Nicolas Fernandez extended JDT II’s lead to 3-0 (60th) before KL’s Guilherme De Paula converted a penalty (63rd) for his 27th league goal.

Both teams were then reduced to 10 men as JDT II’s Daniel Ting and KL’s Naim Nazmi Zainuddin were sent off for fighting in the 65th minute.