KUALA LUMPUR: Kuching City coach Aidil Sharin leapt to the defence of winger Ramadhan Saifullah after the youngster endured a difficult night in the Malaysia Cup final.
Kuching eventually fell 2-0 to the Southern Tigers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday, but Aidil refused to place the blame on Ramadhan, 25, who missed a penalty and squandered two good chances during the match.
"I don’t want to blame Ramadhan. Penalties are always 50-50, and even world-class players miss them," said Aidil.
"It would have been great if we had scored because the game could have been completely different," he said.
"Our momentum was good, and we created opportunities. But if you don’t take your chances against a team like JDT, you will be punished," he added.
Aidil said mistakes are part and parcel of football and stressed that the defeat should not fall solely on one player’s shoulders.
"My players are human beings and naturally they are disappointed right now, but errors are normal," he said.
"I don’t want to speak about just one player because this is a team game," he said.
"Ramadhan is still young. He did his best and I am still happy with his performances throughout the season. He will learn from this experience and come back stronger," he added.
Kuching had started brightly and looked capable of springing a surprise against the dominant Johor side.
Their first big opening arrived in the 19th minute when Timor-Leste winger Joao Pedro produced a dazzling solo run. He beat two defenders before delivering a dangerous low cross from the left, but Ramadhan shockingly guided his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.
The winger was handed another golden opportunity six minutes later after being brought down inside the penalty area by La’Vere Corbin-Ong.
However, Ramadhan’s misery continued as he dragged the resulting spot-kick wide. This allowed JDT to remain level before eventually taking control of the match later in the second half.
JDT’s two goals were scored by Brazilian winger Marcus Guilherme in the 80th minute and winger Arif Aiman Hanapi in the 90th minute.
