KUALA NERUS: Terengganu FC (TFC) head coach Tomislav Steinbruckner has lavished praise on his side for their spirited performance in all six group matches in the ASEAN Zone Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
He said although they failed to make the semi-finals of the ASEAN Zone, his players did well to stay unbeaten. He, however, apologised to the fans for failing to guide the Turtles into the next stage.
“I want to congratulate all my players. They deserve all the applause. In the six matches, we won three and drew three. Unfortunately, we finished second in Group G. “I’m satisfied with (the performance of) my players.
They played well. Once again congratulations to them for their hard work and fighting spirit,” he told a post-match conference after their final Group G match against Indonesia’s Bali United at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium here on Wednesday.
Goals from Sony Norde (39th minute) and Sardor Kulmatov (89th minute) were enough for TFC to beat Bali United 2-0.
However, it was not enough for the Turtles to advance to the semi-finals as they failed to match Cambodian representatives Phnom Penh Crown FC’s goal advantage, thus missing the cut for the knockout stage. On Friday (Dec 8), TFC faced a similar heartbreak when they failed to end their 22-year wait for the coveted Malaysia Cup after losing 3-1 to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the final at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil. – BERNAMA
