PETALING JAYA: Kelantan football team coach E. Elavarasan badly needs to improve his squad, and adding foreign signings might be the key to it.
Kelantan suffered their third straight loss in the Super League after Terengganu thrashed them 4-1 at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium on Friday, and the gaffer hopes the next transfer window will see some new faces join The Real Warriors.
“If we want to improve the team, we need to make changes and bring in foreign players,” said Elavarasan.
“This season, we can see that with good foreign signings, the performance of the team also improves.
“But that depends on the management, budget, and planning.”
Terengganu came out the gates strong during the match, scoring in the 22nd minute when Brazilian centreback Diego Landis capitalised on a poor clearing punch from Kelantan goalkeeper Azfar Arif.
Their second goal was a beauty when Akram Mahinan found Nurillo Tukhtasinov, and the Uzbekistani player lobbed the ball home from outside the box to fool Kelantan’s defence. Yan Mabella then made it three for the hosts in the 40th minute with a simple finish past the goalkeeper.
After the break, Kelantan got their consolation goal when substitute winger T. Saravanan scored in the 51st minute, but Terengganu went on to seal their win in the 73rd minute as Mabella got his second of the night.
Meanwhile, Terengganu coach Badrul Afzan Razali was pleased with his team’s discipline and spirit displayed on home turf.
“I must praise the team for their good performance throughout the match. Thankfully, we achieved our target of getting the three points that keep us in the top three,” he said.
Terengganu are currently third in the standings with 13 points, three behind Kuala Lumpur in second and five behind leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT). Kelantan are sixth with eight points.
