Azraai Happy Kelantan Back To Winning Ways

26 April, 2015



PETALING JAYA: Coach Mohd Azraai Khor is glad that Kelantan have finally found their mojo after a string of poor results.

The Red Warriors beat leaders Selangor 2-1 in the Super League at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium on Saturday to extend their 13-year unbeaten home record against the Red Giants.

Striker Mohd Norfarhan Mohamad (pic) bagged the winner in the 74th minute. Earlier, Brazilian striker Gilmar Filho gave Kelantan the lead in the sixth minute but Selangor drew level six minutes later with Mohd Nazmi Faiz on target.

It was Kelantan’s second straight win. Last Tuesday, they outclassed Sime Darby FC 3-0 in the FA Cup quarter-final second-leg match for a 4-1 aggregate win.

Azraai only took over the team last month after Dutch coach George Boateng was removed as head coach. Kelantan were beaten in Azraai’s first four league matches, losing to Felda United (1-0), Terengganu (2-1), Pahang (2-0) and Johor Darul Ta’zim (3-1).

“When I joined the team, I noticed that we were not clinical in the final third of the field. So we signed better foreign strikers to add bite up front.

“We then beat Sime Darby in our FA Cup match and it was a big boost to our players’ confidence. The new foreigners and local players are starting to gel and we can see the improvement now,” said Azraai.

“At the moment, we are playing only 50%-60% of our ability ... there’s still plenty of room for us to improve. The good thing is the team’s mood is positive and the winning mentality has returned to the team,” he added.

Kelantan have pulled themselves away from the relegation zone following the win over Selangor. They are now ninth in the 12-team league with 10 point from nine matches. Kelantan’s next match is against Sarawak on May 2.

Sumber - K. Rajan, Star Online www.thestar.com.my