KUCHING: Kuching City FC’s narrow 1-0 loss to Selangor FC may sting, but head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak is already looking ahead.
He promised that his players will return to training and “work double hard” before their next meeting.
Selangor’s Chrigor Moraes capitalised on a defensive lapse late in the game to settle the contest at the Stadium Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya last night (Feb 22).
Despite the defeat, Aidil felt his side did not deserve to walk away empty-handed after what he described as a tight and high-quality encounter.
“Like I said before the game, it was going to be tight. Both teams are playing good football. First, congratulations to Selangor for getting the three points,”
“But I think the boys on my side didn’t deserve to lose. We created many chances and controlled the game very well. But this is football, we have to accept it and learn from when we lost,”he said.
The result marked only Kuching City’s third league defeat of the season, and Aidil was quick to credit his players for their effort and discipline, highlighting the team’s steady progress.
“I still give credit to my players. They worked so hard tonight and showed the quality of Kuching City. Before, we were not there. But slowly (we are). We learn and have to move on from today’s game,”
“I don’t blame anyone. I will take the blame because I’m the head coach. The important thing is they gave every single minute their best,”he told a post match press conference.
The Singaporean tactician pointed out that his tactical plan largely worked, particularly in containing Selangor’s key attacking threats.
“The plan was to stop their dangerous players, and I think we did that very well. They didn’t create many clear chances. The difference was they took their opportunity. That’s the difference in the game”
He acknowledged that playing away in front of Selangor’s passionate home support provided an added advantage for the hosts.
“The atmosphere from the Selangor fans is always incredible. Of course, that’s an advantage for them. But quality-wise, we matched them. Even the statistics showed we attacked more.”
Currently in the mix for second place finish, Aidil believes the race for second to fourth place remains open and sees it as a challenge rather than pressure.
“Let’s not forget where Kuching was before. Last season we finished fourth and we want to improve. We cannot suddenly jump from there to number one or two overnight. We have to build step by step.”
“You can see the goals we concede now compared to last season, it’s massively different. That’s one good achievement. But we don’t stop here. We have to get better and better.”
As the Cats regroup ahead of their upcoming fixtures, including another showdown against Selangor, Aidil made it clear that the response will begin immediately on the training pitch.
