PETALING JAYA: Discipline and commitment are not the usual characteristics of cats but when it comes to Kuching City, they are proving to be a winning combo pushing them up the Super League.
And Negri Sembilan found that out much to their chagrin at the Sarawak Stadium on Saturday as the hosts left the pitch purring after a well-deserved 2-0 win.
The victory also moved the Cats up to second spot in the league standings with 31 points, level with Selangor but ahead on goal difference.
Kuching City coach Aidil Sharin was pleased to see his tactical plan work out perfectly but hailed his players’ discipline and commitment for making the difference.
“We had lost to Negri previously in Paroi and we knew their strengths,” said Aidil.
“We wanted to shut down their key players and I think our boys did that very well. We used (Joao) Pedro and Ramadhan (Saifullah) more on the sides and it worked out.”
Kuching got ahead in the 10th minute through Gabriel Nistelrooy and went on to seal the win in the 66th minute through Ronald Ngah.
The Cats have been on a good run in the league, losing only one match in the last five when they fell to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) 1-2 last month.
Aidil said it felt good to see the team on an upward trajectory, and the win at home was made sweeter with the presence of Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg.
“It was an honour to see the Premier at the stadium to support the team.
“From what I heard, he has not been to the stadium for almost 10 years. So it was a good time for us to get the win.
“The team and I didn’t actually know he would be there. We just focused on what needed to be done.”
However, Aidil had some grouses about the pitch conditions, which led to some minor injuries.
“The pitch was not satisfactory, especially when players need to make tight movements. Ronald (Ngah) also suffered a slight injury because of it.”
Meanwhile, for Negri, it was their third straight loss in the league, leaving them in eighth place with 17 points.
Nidzam Jamil admitted that Kuching dominated the match with their structure and organisation.
“The better team won. We tried to fight back in the second half but their second goal killed our momentum,” he said.
“We have to learn. I’m not blaming the defensive line but we have to see how we allowed Kuching to get past us.’’
Both teams will next play in the Malaysia Cup quarter-final first leg as Kuching meet Brunei on Saturday, while Negri take on Selangor the next day.
