There is no beating about the bush when you have Bojan Hodak as head coach of any side. The straight talking Croatian has won everything there is to be won in the domestic scene of professional football in Malaysia, and he was blunt in his assessment of the City Boys’ performance, while speaking to members of the media after their disappointing scoreless draw at Melaka United on Thursday night.
“We create(d) chances, we hit the post. (Their) Goalkeeper have (had) three, four excellent saves. He was (the) Man of the Match. So, nothing else to say, we didn’t score that’s it”, he said.
In describing the game, the 51-year old also explained that after a long trek of 17,000km’s playing 4 matches in 15 days, fatigue and exhaustion had finally got the better of his players in this result that saw the Red and White concede fifth position in the standings to Kedah DA.
“Well, it was not (a) nice game. We start(ed) very slow. But, I said this is our (I mean), in 2 weeks, our fourth match and all 4 matches we have (were) away. We played Sabah, India (ATK Mohun Bagan), (Sri) Pahang and now in Melaka (United), all 4 matches (were) away. There is (there was) lots of travelling. I know that before the game, I mentioned that (our) players will be tired because of this, we looked very slow (in the) first half. (In the) Second half, this was slowly getting better and better. Most important(ly), nobody’s injured, and I think that after the break, we would (will) be at (a) good level.
A question from the floor attributed that perhaps today’s outcome was due to Bojan’s tinkering of the line-up, perhaps in resting some players compared to those who were deployed in the 2-0 win at Kuantan on Sunday.
“Ah well, it’s not because of that. You can see that everybody start(ed) to play, Partiban coming (back) after an injury, Romel coming (back) after an injury. This (It) is (was) also important that they play. As I said, (the) issue is that we missed the chances and (the) issue is that their goalkeeper has fantastic saves today”, Bojan replied.
Bojan also commended his opposite number, Asri Ninggal and his players that night despite the challenges they faced professionally and personally in eking out this result that finally stopped the Hang Tuah’s run of three consecutive losses (0-4 to Johor DT away, 0-5 to Terengganu away, 0-3 to Kedah DA home).
“Yes, you can see that nobody will think that they (Melaka United’s management) owe them salaries, you can see (from) the way that they play, you must respect they were (are) professionals. They play(ed) all the way till the end. They fight (fought) and at the end they deserved a point.
To read the match report of Melaka United vs KL City on 15/9/2022 (Super League), please click COMING SOON
To watch the highlights of Melaka United vs KL City on 15/9/2022 (Super League), please click https://youtu.be/qeT7HY5m88Q
To watch the complete match of Melaka United vs KL City on 15/9/2022 (Super League), please click https://youtu.be/zvPWayjyaH0