Irfan pleased to see Kipre's dry spell come to an end

Finishing as the second highest top scorer in the 2018 Super League, many expected Kipre to be the main man leading Terengganu's charge for the title this season but the Ivorian has yet to live up to that billing previously. But all that could change after his brace against Felda United open his accounts for the 2019 season.

The first goal showed that despite his goal drought, Kipre still had the confidence to take on defenders in dangerous areas while the second goal just showed his hunger, pressing and forcing the mistake from Jasazrin Jamaluddin for an easy goal to eventually kill the tie as a contest last in the second half.

Seeing Kipre finding his feet ago with the league approaching the halfway mark is still a delight for Irfan Bakit and he admitted that his team has struggled to cope without Kipre's goal. The experienced trainer is hopeful that the goals against Felda will not only boost his star striker but also be a shot in the arm for the rest of the team.

"What is important is that we collect 3 points and for Tchetche to find his scoring touch again. The first goal was a beautiful goal with good movement that we could not see from Tchetche in the previous matches. In fact even though we lost to Kedah and PKNP in the last two matches, I was informed that Tchetche was already beginning to find his rhythm again.

"Hopefully this gives him and the team the right motivation because of course he’s disappointed to not have scored until this moment," said Irfan after the match.

The win over Felda broke a run of three consecutive league defeats suffered at the hands of Selangor, PKNP FC and Kedah. The three points take Terengganu up to six in the table but already a massive 12 points behind league leaders Johor Darul Ta'zim.

The 2-1 win at Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium also coincided with the return of Irfan to the bench after two weeks away doing his Pro Diploma licence. His absence together with Nafuzi Zain at the same course has impacted TFC more than they have hoped for.

Irfan will take his Terengganu side to the capital on April 27 to face Petaling Jaya City FC in the next match and he will be raring to work with his players on a daily basis again after his short time away.

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