IPOH: Perak coach Yusri Che Lah (pix) is proud of the fighting spirit shown by his charges after the Bos Gaurus defeated Sabah FC 1-0 to advance to the Malaysia Cup semi-finals.
Yesterday’s second quarter-final result enabled Perak to beat Sabah on a 3-2 aggregate after drawing 2-2 in the first quarter-finals on Sept 15.
Yusri said he was so proud to see his men playing their hearts out at Stadium Perak before 14,000 spectators.
“Praise must be given to my charges for working hard to not concede a goal (yesterday).
“It is not an easy feat as anything can happen even within two minutes to change the outcome. They truly deserved to celebrate this victory,” he told a press conference today.
Yusri said the joy of qualifying for the semi-finals is tinged with some concern as two of his main players Firdaus Saiyadi and Wan Zack Haikal suffered injuries during the match.
“I was concerned when I had to replace Firdaus in the first half of the match and I hope his injuries are not too serious,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said Perak FC deserved last night’s win due to the home team’s spirited fight.
“There were many factors in Sabah’s game which were not like how the team played in Likas on Sept 15 where we managed to score, but last night was different.
“There were slippery conditions on the pitch, player fatigue played a part, and their (players) fitness level was not at a satisfactory level to compete with Perak,” he said.
He added that his players should now focus on the remaining matches or existing tournaments to ensure that Sabah starts to record wins after this. -Bernama
