FA Cup: winning mindset key to Penang FC making it to semi-finals, says head coach

KUANTAN – A winning mindset was the key to Penang FC thrashing Sri Pahang FC 5-2 en route to the semi-finals of the FA Cup last night, said Penang FC head coach Zainal Abidin Hassan.

Praising the performance of his players, he said that although they initially trailed 2-1 to the hosts in the first half, the spirit to win saw the Panthers rise up in the second half.

“I saw in the first 25 to 30 minutes, it was not the real Penang game where my boys seemed to be lost so much that they were punished by two goals (by Sri Pahang).

“We were careless and failed to adapt quickly, but at the end of the first half, they rose up to score a goal while our second goal in the second half became the turning point for the team who then managed to win,” he told the post-match press conference at the Darul Makmur Stadium here.

Sri Pahang opened scoring through Andres Steven Rodriguez in the 11th minute followed by Azwan Aripin in the 19th minute before T. Saravanan narrowed the deficit for the visitors in the 45th minute.

In the second half, Penang equalised the score through Hilal Alhelwe Bassam’s goal in the 85th minute, forcing the match to be dragged into extra time and thereafter they added three more goals through Lucas Espindola Da Silva (96th minute) and Hilal (99th minute) followed by K. Thivandran (116th minute) to complete the rout.

Zainal Abidin added that based on the performance of his players, he believed that the Panthers will be able to give a good fight against other teams in future matches.

“We will meet Johor Darul Ta’zim in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and this is definitely more meaningful. It is certain that the players will give their all as in last week's action where we only lost 1-0 to JDT,” he said.

Commenting on the performance shown by their German-Lebanese mixed heritage striker Hilal, Zainal Abidin said he has shown good compatibility with Brazilian import striker Lucas Espindola Da Silva in steering the team's attack machinery.

Meanwhile, Sri Pahang manager Dollah Salleh said the fatigue experienced by his men during the match caused many mistakes to be made and Penang managed to take advantage of that.

However, he is confident that the weaknesses of the Elephants can be improved, including putting more emphasis on the fitness aspect. – Bernama, July 24, 2022