Best foot forward
Irfan says Turtles will play their hearts out against all teams
Terengganu always give their best against every team in the Malaysian Super League.
Terengganu head coach Irfan Bakti (pic) has rebuked claims from Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) team manager Luciano Figueroa, who wished that the Turtles would also give 200% when facing other teams, not just against the reigning league champions.
Playing at the Sultan Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu fought valiantly to hold JDT 2-2 in a pulsating match on Friday.
“When we face any team in the league, I demand my players to give only their best. Not just JDT, but teams like Pahang, Perak and Felda United, I only expect the best.
“I’ve always had a good record against JDT with Terengganu and my previous employers. That doesn’t mean I only focus on beating them.
“At the end of the day, my demand is for the players is to go into matches with the mindset of winning.”
The former Penang and Felda United coach said he was happy with his team’s performance against the Southern Tigers, calling it a fantastic display.
“When we were trailing 1-2, my players did not give up. The courage they showed to equalise and also to search for the winner was commendable.
“Terengganu didn’t perform well in the first two matches but this was different. There have been lots of changes in the team and the new players showed great commitment.
“Players like Khairul Izuan Rosli and Ahmad Syamim Yahya were good today and beginning to show their worth in the squad. This is good momentum for the upcoming league matches.”
Several decisions by the match referee Muhammad Nazmi Nasaruddin were met with a chorus of boos by the fans, and Terengganu players were seen remonstrating when he gave two penalties to JDT in the game.
“When asked about the decisions, Irfan said he is not going to comment further on the issue and will send a report to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and Malaysian Football League (MFL) on the match officiating.
As for JDT, Figueroa said that everything they planned for the match did not work out.
“This is what happens when we sit back too much. We played well in the second half after telling the players to move forward and be more compact.
“But after we took the lead, we sat back again, something I had told the players we didn’t need to do. So I hope we can improve on this aspect.
“I admit Terengganu played well. It wasn’t easy for us to play against a team who give 200% when playing against us. We are aware that when teams play against JDT, their stadium will be full.”