Aidil backs Kedah to recover from first defeat

Kedah couldn't have asked for a better start to the 2019 season as they emerged as one of the early pacesetters of the Super League. Three wins and two draws had put them right up behind Johor Darul Ta'zim FC in the standings and remained unbeaten right until last night's match against Pahang.

The 1-0 reverse meant that The Red Eagles suffered their first ever defeat of the season but incredibly are still one of the meanest defence around, having only conceded their second goal in the season thus far to that Zuhair Aizat's deflected shot late in the game.

In truth, Kedah could have gotten something out of the game had they been more clinical in front of goal. None more obvious than Fernando Rodriguez's incredible miss in the second half, heading over from just under the crossbar when he look set to have given the away side the lead.

"We came with a game and the boys did a fantastic job. One shot deflected and it becomes a goal, that's football. But the most important thing is that the defence and the boys gave 100%. And it's good football to see that both team are attacking and both teams are doing very well. We're just unlucky not to collect any points. We even had chances too."

"Whenever you come to an away game, the pressure is really high. They have more luck than us and we now we have to look forward, there are more games to come. It's hard to accept a defeat, especially this kind of way. I think it's unfair to go home with zero points with the performance that we put out. Like Keon who hadn't played and gave a difficult time to Dickson. I'm very proud of the boys," said Aidil after the match. 

Aidil will have to pick his boys up as they will host JDT in the next game at Darul Aman Stadium. Having come second fiddle to one fellow title challenger, they will have a second chance to prove that the belong among the top echelon of the league.

With the league taking a break due to the upcoming international FIFA calendar, Kedah will only have Rizal Ghazali, Zaquan Adha and Ifwat Akmal going away with the senior Malaysia side for the Airmarine Cup. Which means that Aidil will have plenty of opportunity to regroup his players earlier and work on their shooting boots for the big game next. 

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