Hartmann (right) and Mateo celebrate a goal. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The most compelling lesson that Sarawak head coach David Usop took away from Tuesday night’s nine-goal thriller was that the Crocs must possess the strength of character to guard against complacency.
Sarawak dominated the first half of the FA Cup match with a 4-0 lead only to concede three goals to MISC-MIFA in the second half. The final scoreline at Stadium Negeri was 6-3.
“We didn’t give any opportunity and space for our opponent to score as we are pressuring our opponent, utilising their mistakes to our advantage to score goals,” Usop reflected on the first half of play .
“While, the second-half the Crocs failed to maintain their composure despite MISC-MIFA were down to 10 men in the last 20 minutes … where two penalties were awarded,” he added when met by reporters after the match.
“If we continue to make the same mistake in our future matches by being complacent causing players to loose their focus, this will only punish ourselves.
“Hopefully, the players will learn from their mistake,” he concluded.
Usop did have positives to take away from the match.
He was happy that the Crocs finally showed they could be prolific scorers and that two of the goals arose out of set pieces.
He said he had no issue with the team’s defence as most of the mistakes occurred from the midfield.