PETALING JAYA: To beat the best in the nation, you need to have the perfect plan.
And Kuala Lumpur did exactly that as their tactical ploy had worked to a tee for almost 65 minutes before a pile driver from Johor Darul Ta’zim – midfielder Nathaniel Shio Hong Wan punctured the City Boys’ hope of winning the FA Cup title by scoring in the 66th minute.
KL went down 0-2 to the Southern Tigers at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Saturday with the other goal scored by Leandro Velasquez in the 74th minute.
Coach Bojan Hodak believed his side were brilliant off the ball with their tactical organisation and created some dangerous chances in the first-half but it was still just not good enough to get their hands on the trophy.
“We were disciplined for 60 minutes, everything went according to plan but to beat JDT, we needed a perfect match,” said the Croatian.
“We missed two goal-scoring chances in the first half. I don’t know how Syihan (Ahmad Syihan Hazmi) saved Matko’s (Zirdum) chance. After that, Sara (T. Saravanan) could have scored too.”
Hodak said the goal from Nathaniel was the turning point.
“The goal from No. 6 (Nathaniel) was unbelievable. He can try a million times, maybe he will never score a goal like that in his career,” said Hodak.
“They were attacking but didn’t look dangerous. Our defenders did well until that goal. Then we lost a little bit of concentration and conceded the second goal.
“We were a little unlucky.”
Hodak said the defeat was bitter but urged his boys to focus on the Super League and the Malaysia Cup.
“We’ve the Malaysia Cup and the league to concentrate on now. Three finals in three years are unbelievable for this club. I’m proud of the players and the fans too.
“We can’t be satisfied if we lose. JDT have quality and a budget, ten times bigger than us. We gave a good fight. Maybe, if the match was played in Bukit Jalil, it could have been a different story.”
