The City Boys lost our unbeaten record after 23 matches at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, with the 3-0 reverse to Johor DT on Wednesday night.
In the first passage of play, with the the southerners leading 1-0 from Fernando Forestieri’s opener in the 17th, there was a standout moment that those in the Red & White thoroughly appreciated, when Declan sprinted across the length of our half, a 50 metre Olympic style dash that would have made Usain Bolt proud, to chase Bergson da Silva who was bearing down on our goal for a one on one against Mendoza. The former Den Bosch defender just made it in time, and together with our custodian, kept us in the match at that moment.
Declan though, did not make a meal out of it and refused to take any credit, as he told The Voice of The City Boys.
“I am sure if it was anyone else from KL City to be in my position, they would have done the same. I just thought I needed to do anything that I could put Bergson off his shot and help Kevin (Mendoza) in any way. Thankfully Kevin made a good save and stopped a (potential) goal and I could kick it out for a corner.”
That save if you could call it, did not matter in the final analysis as we conceded a couple more goals late in the match, but it was that exemplary grit and determination of the chase that the faithful appreciate more of, in our quest to stem this tide of results.
Head coach Bojan deployed the twin brother of Ryan, on the right of a back three together with Gallifuoco in the middle and Irfan on the left, and Declan was at ease and seemed extremely comfortable in the early minutes. However, a mistimed header which gave Forestieri the chance to punish us was the major black spot on Declan’s performance that night.
“I thought I did better than the last time we met. Apart from my judgement error that lead to the first goal, I thought I was able to do my job and played well”, he said.
Declan was also feeling more confident and thankful for Bojan’s tact and knowledge that is helping his progress here.
“I think I still have some things that I need to work on, but for the most part I feel more comfortable and settled in here at KL City. Bojan is also understanding coupled with his experience, I am very grateful for he has helped me adapt to Malaysian football.”
Next up for the City Boys is a chance for immediate redemption and land that first win when we play Melaka United tomorrow, Saturday, April 9, 2022 at 10pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium.
Tickets for the Super League match against Melaka U are available at the following link, tickethotline.com.my
For Season Ticket Holders (B2 City Boys), enjoy 20% off regular ticket prices for your friends and/or family. (Limited to a maximum of 4 tickets per transaction. Contact Shamim for details)
To read the match report of KL City vs Johor DT on 6/4/2022 (Super League), please click
kualalumpurfootball.com/…/unbeaten-home-record-broken-city-boys-see-red-in-loss-to-johor-dt
To watch the highlights of KL City vs Johor DT on 6/4/2022 (Super League), please click
youtube.com/watch
To watch the complete match of KL City vs Johor DT on 6/4/2022 (Super League), please click youtube.com/watch