KUALA LUMPUR: Kuching City FC’s fairytale Malaysia Cup campaign ended in heartbreak, but head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak said he could not fault his players after their spirited display against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
The Cats fell 2-0 to the Southern Tigers in the Malaysia Cup final at Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Saturday night, with both goals arriving late in the second half.
Marcos Guilherme broke the deadlock in the 81st minute after lobbing the ball into the net from an Oscar Arribas cross before substitute Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi sealed the victory in stoppage time when his effort bounced in off the post.
Despite the defeat, Aidil remained proud of his side’s performance on Malaysian football’s biggest stage.
“First of all, I have to congratulate JDT for being champions and secondly, I want to apologise to the Kuching City fans for not getting the result,” he said during the post-match press conference.
Aidil felt his players executed the game plan well for large parts of the match, particularly in the first half when they frustrated the heavily favoured opponents.
“I think in the first half we did massively well. We controlled the game well, frustrated the opponent, kept the ball and countered them,” he said.
However, he admitted injuries and limited squad depth eventually proved costly as JDT introduced fresh attacking options after the break.
“We had to make some little changes because of injuries and that changed the game a bit. When JDT made changes, they added more punch into the game,” he added.
Still, the Singaporean tactician refused to blame his players after guiding the club to its first-ever Malaysia Cup final.
“I can’t fault anyone. They gave their best and worked very hard to be here today. In a final, there is only one winner and today JDT took the chances they had,” he said.
Aidil also paid tribute to the thousands of Kuching City supporters who travelled to Bukit Jalil despite the upcoming Gawai celebration and costly ticket prices.
“I always appreciate their support. I heard tickets were very expensive and many Sarawakians are celebrating Gawai soon, but they still came to support the team,” he said.
“They came not only from Kuching but from all over Sarawak. I want to say thank you and hopefully we can become better next season,” he added.
