BLAME YOURSELVES TERENGGANU

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PETALING JAYA, Sept 13 – East Coast giants Terengganu FC are out of the AFC Cup after finishing a poor fourth place in the Super League with a 2-2 draw against 10-men Penang FC at the City Stadium in Georgetown on Sunday – the last day of the Malaysian Super League.
It was a case of Terengganu paying a heavy price for a missed penalty, and a disallowed goal against the Panthers.
However, what topped it all was the show cause letter issued to head coach Nafuzi Zain after defeats to Kedah (1-2), Kuala Lumpur City (1-0) and Johor Darul Takzim (1-0).
It was the wrong timing to issue the show-cause letter. To a certain extent, it affected the team’s morale on and off the field.
Issuing the letter showed the lack of professionalism by the management, especially when the league was at the tail end of the competition.
It is the worse time to issue such a letter. If only the management had waited for the league to end or held a verbal discussion with the head coach and his coaching staff instead of the letter it would have been a different end for the team.
There is no guarantee the Turtles, would have finished better but there are a lot of factors that needed to be taken into consideration before issuing the show cause letter to Nafuzi. Let us not forget that certain matters were out of Nafuzi’s hands.
Terengganu qualified for the AFC Cup last season but the coronavirus pandemic forced the tournament to be canceled.
The stalemate at the City Stadium was a heartbreaking result for the Turtles who had everything going for them in the must-win match after Latif Suhaimi was given a direct red card for bringing down the last man David da Silva in the box, as early as the 13th minute.
However, the Brazilian muffed his spot-kick much to the delight of the Panthers. Still, Terengganu grabbed the lead through skipper Argzim Redzovic with a delightful header on 25 minutes, from an assist by Lee Tuck.
Undeterred Penang, despite the numerical disadvantage, fired home two quick goals through Sheriddin Boboev and Casagrande, in the 40th and 45th minutes, respectively, for a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Midway into the second half, Terengganu had a goal disallowed for offside but Lee Tuck, on loan from Pahang, equalized in the 81st minute. Penang had to work extra hard after this to thwart Terengganu’s onslaught in search of the winner.
The Panthers held on for a share of the spoils for the one point earned gave Penang 41 points and a third placing in the 12-team league – something they can be proud of after gaining promotion by winning the Premier League last season.
Terengganu can now look towards the Malaysian Cup to redeem its battered pride. Nafuzi should be allowed to handle the team. The East Coast side, for the record, was the only team to put a dent in eight-time Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim with a 1-0 win over the Southern Tigers at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor Bahru.

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