Good start for Crocs in Malaysia Cup

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KUCHING: Sarawak made a good start to their Malaysia Cup campaign after scoring a vital 3-2 win over Terengganu at Stadium Negeri on Thursday night despite the absence of its two key import players Muamer Salibasic and Hassan Muhammad.

Sarawak’s Ryan Griffiths (centre) tries to avoid being tackled by Terengganu’s Mazlizam Mohamad in their opening Group B match of the Malaysia Cup at Stadium Negeri on Thursday night. The Crocs won 3-2. — Photo by Chimon Upon

According to coach Robert Alberts, Terengganu were a better side when compared to the Crocs as the homesters seemed yet to hit the rhythm for the Malaysia Cup campaign after returning from a tour in Indonesia last month.

“The players looked tired and not alert but they capitalised on the mistakes committed by the visiting team who were slow into returning to defence. We won because we made use of their weakness,” Alberts told reporters after the match.

He said Gabor Gyepes had finally started his first competitive match after three months of nursing his injury and played calmly.

“He was stable and we will need to give him time to return to his peak performance,” said Alberts.

Describing the match as a fantastic game with great goals, the Dutchman however said both goals scored by Terengganu in the second half were easy goals.

“Sani made tremendous saves during the match and I believe that he will show a strong performance for this competition,” he added.

When asked on the status of Hassan, Alberts refused to comment the matter, saying that only the announcement will only be made by the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) management.

Sarawak will be heading to Ipoh next to play against Perak on Aug 20.