Melaka Utd coach heaps praise on his men despite draw with KL

MELAKA, Sept 16 (Bernama) -- Melaka United coach Mohd Asri Ninggal is full of praise for his men despite their 0-0 draw with Kuala Lumpur City FC in last night’s Super League match.

He said this was because they faced various challenges, including being able to field only one foreign import for that match.

He also commended them for giving their everything against a top team like KL.

“My man of the match is our goalkeeper Norazlan Razali, who hasn’t played for some time but he used his vast experience to save us last night. KL are not just any team, all my players deserve a pat on the back,” he told reporters after the match last night.

In the match, played at Stadium Hang Jebat here, both teams went on the offensive and had chances to score but were both let down by poor finishing.

Melaka, under siege by KL for the most part of the match, managed to keep the visitors at bay thanks to the heroics of defenders Paulo Josue, Jordan Mintah and Hadin Azman as well as Norazlan.

Mohd Asri said he intends to fully utilise the two-week international break to prepare his team for their next assignment - against Selangor on Oct 1 - and also hoped that it would give his walking-wounded enough time to fully recover.

Meanwhile, KL head coach Bojan Hodak attributed his team’s poor performance to fatigue following the exertions of having to travel to four different venues for their away matches.

Yesterday’s result sees Melaka United remaining in ninth spot in the 12-team Super League standings with 18 points and KL finding themselves in sixth spot with 25 points.

-- BERNAMA