JOHOR BARU: Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak is in bullish mood for the return leg of the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals despite his side going down 4-2 to Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) in the first leg at the Larkin Stadium on Saturday.
JDT put on an impressive display with goals by Jasazrin Jamaluddin (fourth minute), Norshahrul Idlan Tahala (20th), Safiq Rahim (39th) and Leonel Nunez (81st). Kelantan, however, netted two vital away goals through an own goal by JDT skipper Mohd Aidil Zafuan Abdul Razak (23rd) and centreback Obinna Nwaneri (49th).
Hodak admitted his side got off to a poor start on Saturday.
“I don’t know whether it’s the players’ complacency or overconfidence,” said the burly Croatian. “We tried to get back into game in the second half. A two-goal lead is quite big but we will be playing in front of our home crowd. It’s always hard for any team to get a result there. We have six more days to prepare and I think the tie is still wide open.”
JDT coach Azmi Mohamed said it was sweet revenge for their 1-0 defeat to Kelantan in the FA Cup final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in June.
“We must stay focused despite having a two-goal advantage. If my players play their hearts out and follow the game plan, we can beat any team.
“We have six more days to prepare and we need to be on our toes in the second leg or Kelantan will punish you. We created a lot of chances in the first leg and I hope we can continue to do that in Kota Baru,” added the former international.
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