BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
After his side held last year's finalists Selangor to a 1-1 draw in their Malaysia Cup group opener on Tuesday, Terengganu boss Irfan Bakti Abu Salim admitted that he has had assistance for the match.
Speaking in the post-match press conference; Irfan admitted that he had been fed information on Selangor by the head coach of another Terengganu-based side; T-Team FC, Rahmad Darmawan.
Last Saturday, Rahmad's charges were beaten 4-2 by the Red Giants in their Super League match, and he apparently handed the scouting information gathered from the encounter to assist the Premier League side in their match on Tuesday.
"I have to thank the T-Team head coach for giving me the information on Selangor.
"I knew nothing about Selangor because I've been focusing on Premier League sides, and (thankfully) my men were able to use the information," revealed the veteran trainer.
He also described the match as a very evenly-balanced encounter, and expressed his relief that his side did not concede early like in their previous matches.
"Either side could have had the three points. We each had many chances, so it's a fair result.
"Finally tonight we did not go behind early in the match. We had been doing that in the previous matches, in the friendly matches against Pahang, Felda United, and in the league against JDT II last week we were two down within five minutes of kickoff. Praise God, tonight we were more disciplined," pointed out Irfan.
In the match that was held at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium, the hosts took the lead two minutes from halftime through Rufino Segovia's goal after Liberian striker Forkey Doe earlier missed a penalty in the 31st minute. However, the visitors were awarded a penalty themselves in the 64th minute, and former Canada international Issey Nakajima-Farran did not miss.
Irfan's post-match interview
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
