Tactically poor Turtles alarm coach Irfan

KUALA LUMPUR: It was good to get the three points but it was painful to see them play.

Terengganu’s head coach Irfan Bakti was scratching his head after his players made things hard for themselves en route to beating Kuala Lumpur 1-0 at the Cheras Football Stadium on Friday.

The veteran trainer said the Turtles were tactically poor, compared to their last game in Kuala Terengganu where they held Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) 2-2.

“I’m not happy with the performance. We turned 360 degrees compared to the game against JDT. We had so many chances but made life tough for ourselves,” said Irfan.

“I told the boys to keep it simple, but they kept making things hard.

“I don’t want to put Kuala Lumpur down but they weren’t at their best. We were on par with them.”

He said captain Kipre Tchetche was out of sorts against the City Boys.

“At one point, I wanted to take him out because he wasn’t his usual self. However, when we scored the goal, I decided to keep him,” he said.

“He and the other boys missed some sitters. It should not happen in the next game. They should not complicate things when there’s a chance.”

Terengganu’s goal scorer Igor Zonjic agreed that the team weren’t playing at 100%.

“Things would have changed if we had scored in the first half. We should have been more clinical,” he said.

Even his teammate Lee Tuck, who was instrumental in the middle, said he had mixed feelings after the match.

“Three points are good, but we could have played better. I guess we still haven’t got the rhythm for the season, and it might take time for us to get it,” said Lee Tuck.