All over the place
Mousedeers’ lack of focus against Eagles costs them dearly
PETALING JAYA: Coach Zainal Abidin Hassan could not hide his disappointment after Melaka handed Kedah a 2-1 victory in the Super League.
The Mousedeers started on a bright note when they opened accounts through Luka Mikunovic (31st) but Kedah bounced back in the second-half with goals from skipper Baddrol Bakhtiar (60th) and Jang Suk-won’s own goal (71st) at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar on Saturday.
The defeat brought Melaka back down to earth after their thumping 6-0 win over Felda United last week.
Zainal said their lack of focus gifted the hosts full points.
“We were more disciplined in the first-half and managed to get the lead.
“After the breather, we were loose in defence and made two mistakes, and we were punished by Kedah,” said the former international.
“A poor clearance and an own goal that should not have happened. We were playing an away game, the boys should have been more careful.
“It’s disappointing that we can’t hold on to our lead. We need to be more focused.”
Melaka are now fifth in the 12-team league with 19 points after 14 matches while Kedah surged to third spot over Selangor on goal difference as both teams have 22 points.
Zainal’s counterpart Aidil Shahrin was relieved Kedah bounced back from a 3-1 home loss to Selangor last week.
“We got the result that we wanted ... we dominated in the first-half but made the same mistakes which saw us concede goals from set-pieces,” said the Singaporean.
“This is where we need to be careful because teams like Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and Pahang will capitalise on such situations.
“The boys played their hearts out. They knew they were not good enough against Selangor and the seniors did well to motivate the younger players.”