On target: Terengganu’s Yann Mabella (left) and Raianderson da Costa celebrating their goals against Melaka. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Terengganu’s import players rose to the occasion and were key to their 4-0 thrashing of Melaka on Friday.
Turtles head coach Badrul Afzan Razali attributed the commanding win at home to the foreign players, who helped the team secure the three points before half-time at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.
“In the first half, we played really well, but in the second half it was a little slow,” said Badrul.
“But regardless, it’s three valuable points. So congrats to the team. They have a strong spirit and I always remind them to never take anything lightly.”
Terengganu struck quickly in the 27th minute after a VAR review cleared Azam Azmi Murad from offside, giving Yan Mabella of Congo a chance to score.
Uzbekistan midfielder Nurillo Tukhtasinov then doubled the lead in the 33rd minute, before Brazilian playmaker Raianderson da Costa, better known as Careca, converted a penalty in the 42nd minute thanks to a handball by Melaka’s Che Rashid Che Halim, who was shown the red card.
Mabella then added one more for himself and the team’s fourth goal in the first half’s added time.
Terengganu now sit in second in the Super League with 10 points, behind Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) at the top with 15 points.
Meanwhile, Melaka coach K. Devan admitted that his side’s import quality was no match compared to what Terengganu could afford to field.
“The role of import players plays a big role in a team’s quality, and we see that all of Terengganu’s goals came from their import signings,” said Devan.
“We could see a big difference in the quality of foreign players, and that made all the difference on the pitch.”
Melaka will need to turn things around soon as they are still in search of their first win this season after four matches, and currently sit in 10th place with just three points.
