KUCHING: Kuching City FC head coach Irfan Bakti Abu Salim was left fuming after his players succumbed to another 0-2 defeat in the hands of Perak FC on Sunday at Perak Stadium.
This is the third consecutive loss which has dropped Il Gatto all the way down to 10th position in the 2023 Malaysia Super League table where they started off well by winning the opening game against Kelantan FC away.
Irfan’s men have merely scored three goals so far but conceded up to 10 after only four games into the season.
After showing some character and perseverance in the Borneo derby against Sabah FC last Monday (Mar 6) where they narrowly lost, Kuching City again reverted to how they were playing against Selangor FC where their poor defending and what seemed to be a lack of desire to defend as a unit cost them dearly again.
In the post-match interview, Irfan did not hold back with his criticism towards his players.
“I do not think that Perak even played that well today to be honest with you but we were way, way worse.
“We gave the ball away cheaply far too often, gave them acres of space when they are on the attack, and the players were just ball watching today, which is not acceptable.
“I am very disappointed with the performance of the players but I have to shoulder the blame as well because I was the one who picked this line-up,” he told Astro Arena Bola.
In this match, Irfan made five changes to his starting eleven compared to the one fielded against Sabah FC a week earlier – goalkeeper Shaiful Wazizi and four outfield players Jimmy Raymond, Célio Santos, Adam Shreen, and Abdallah Sudi.
Four out of the five of those players, barring Abdallah Sudi, were involved in the first goal that was conceded just before half time.
Midfielder Adam Shreen was easily turned by Perak FC target man Christian Obiozor in the build-up to the goal, with both Jimmy Raymond and Célio Santos failing to close down Seo Seonung soon enough before the South Korean inside forward fired a tame shot which surprisingly went through the legs of Shaiful Wazizi when it could have been comfortably saved.
Jimmy Raymond was again easily beaten by Perak midfielder Farris Izdiham leading up to the second goal where there were acres of space in between Il Gatto’s defenders and midfielders for Seo to shoot from, when they were again slow to close down the South Korean.
On the attacking phase, Irfan’s men were slightly better in the first half due to Datuk Lim Teong Kim’s men pressing high to win the ball back as soon as they lost possession. Kuching City managed to find pockets of space to pass around the high press to reach their attacking players up front, which led to a few chances, especially the two opportunities right before half-time that they did not capitalise to score to equalise the scoreline.
After going 2-0 ahead, Perak shifted into a low block which gave Kuching City no chance to break through their narrow defence where they just sucked the little life out of the Il Gatto who had to resort to long balls in search of a goal.
With three defeats on the bounce, Irfan’s men have to work hard on the training ground and, as most head coaches usually put it, “go back to basics”, to halt this downturn and overturn their fortunes before the season takes a turn for the worse as they are finding themselves ever closer to the root of the table.
