Nafuzi: Turtles’ loss in first leg not due to my situation

PETALING JAYA: The storm hitting the Terengganu team at the moment is not the main cause of their painful 1-3 defeat by Selangor in their first-leg Malaysia Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

The Super League runners-up have a two-goal deficit to overcome when they host Selangor in the return leg in Kuala Terengganu on Monday.

Nafuzi Zain (pic), who is confirmed to be leaving Terengganu after he cried foul over the way he was treated by the management, explained that the defeat at the Petaling Jaya City Stadium was due to the team’s inability to nullify the opponents’ attacks.

“The players had given their 100% commitment but luck was not on their side.

“There is nothing I can say because we conceded three goals to Selangor from corner kicks and that is where the obvious weakness can be seen when the opposing team take advantage of the situation.

“Honestly, we haven’t conceded from a set-piece for a long time. We need to correct this kind of mistakes in the next match.

“In terms of the players’ performance, I’m still satisfied because we managed to create several chances but it’s just that we failed to score,” he said.

Nafuzi wants the team to bounce back in the second game at home in an effort to qualify for the final.

“I don’t want to give up. I still believe the team can score three goals at home although it is a difficult task given the quality of the Selangor team,” he said.