Turtles thrash Elephants to give coach perfect birthday gift
TERENGGANU coach Nafuzi Zain received the perfect birthday gift as his men thrashed Sri Pahang 5-1 in their Malaysia Cup last 16, first-leg match at Darulmakmur Stadium in Kuantan on Thursday.
Liberian striker Kpah Sherman emerged as the hero for the Turtles, scoring a hat-trick in the first, 52nd and 90th minutes.
Nik Sharif Haseefy Lazim (fourth minute) and Faisal Abdul Halim (49th) scored the other goals.
Steven Rodriguez netted a consolation for Pahang in the 42nd minute.
Nafuzi, who turned 44 on Thursday, praised his team for recording their sixth win in a row since the 3-1 defeat to Johor Darul Ta’zim in the FA Cup final on Sept 10.
However, Nafuzi reminded his men not to be overconfident when they face the Elephants in the return leg on Tuesday.
“It is a perfect birthday gift. The players said the goals were for my birthday,” said Nafuzi.
“Pahang are a good team, but we executed our plan perfectly. The early goal gave us confidence. We were not wasteful in the match.
“However, we need to be ready for the return leg in Kuala Terengganu.
“We do not want to lose at home.”
Pahang coach Dollah Salleh conceded that nothing worked for his men, and their defence just could not cope with Terengganu’s game.
He said Pahang have an uphill battle in the return leg, but they will not give up the fight.
“Nothing worked for us in this match.
“We were not tight in defence and conceded two soft goals.
“We still have 90 minutes to play, and anything can happen. I hope we can do something.”