Like Ninja Turtles
Terengganu put aside league frustration to tear KL apart
PETALING JAYA: After finishing a dismal fifth in the Super League last week, Terengganu vented out all their frustrations by getting off to a flying start in their Malaysia Cup campaign.
The Turtles came out hungry as they thrashed Kuala Lumpur 5-1 on their own turf at the Cheras Football Stadium on Saturday.
The East Coast side’s ace hitman Tchetche Kipre was on form as he scored a hattrick with goals in the 22nd, 55th and 72nd minutes, as the team’s other imports Lee Tuck and Igor Zonjic also found the net in the 44th and 64th.
Head coach Irfan Bakti said his players were anxious to put their 2-0 loss to Selangor in their final
match of the Super League season behind them.
“After conceding many goals in the last few matches I told my players that it was time to put a full stop to it,” said Irfan.
“The players were down when they lost to Selangor last week. We could have finished second if we had won.
“They wanted to come back against Kuala Lumpur and the whole team played well, especially
my import players.
“The presence of Lee Tuck and Thierry (Bin) really bolstered and strengthened my team when we were on the attack, and of course, Tchetche, during his days, can do wonders.”
After sealing three points in their opening Group A match, Irfan’s men now sit comfortably on top of the group table, as Perak and Felcra played to a 0-0 stalemate in the other group match.
But the 67-year-old Irfan does not want his players to take it easy and urges them to stay focused to meet their top-eight target.
“It’s a good start but as our first priority is a place in the quarter-finals, we will take it one game at a time and stay consistent as there are five more group matches to go.
“The Malaysia Cup is a unique tournament and anything can happen, so we have to be on the ball.”