KUALA NERUS – The lack of confidence and playing under pressure are the causes of the Turtles’ defeat at the hands of Kuala Lumpur City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium here last night.
Terengganu head coach Tomislav Steinbruckner said he was disappointed with the performance of his boys who were seen as lethargic and could not take on the pressure when facing almost 30,000 home fans looking for a victory.
The Croatian coach said the performance was under par compared to the game exhibited against Johor Darul Ta’zim earlier.
“My team, in some moments appeared like (they were) playing under pressure… don’t have the courage. When I compared it to the last match we played against JDT, we looked better with more energy… with more confidence then.
“I think maybe because last time we (didn’t) need to win but today we (needed) to win. We didn’t look good like (in the) last few matches,” he said after the match.
Terengganu failed to progress to the FA Cup final after losing 2-4 in a penalty shoot-out with the City Boys after playing to a goalless draw in extra time.
Apart from that, Steinbruckner was also dismayed with several players who refused to take their responsibilities in the penalty shoot-out in this important match.
According to him, as professional players, they should be more confident and have greater belief in themselves in taking team responsibility in whatever situation.
“I’m a little bit angry because some of my players when asked to take penalty shots, said no… scared.
“I personally asked Jordan (Jordan Mintah), and he said no. I asked Faiz Nasir, he doesn’t want. I asked Hakimi (Hakimi Mohammad), who is a very good shooter, but he also doesn’t want. You get the answer, the full stadium is a pressure,” he said, clearly dejected. – Bernama, June 26, 2023
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