BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Pahang boss Dollah Salleh has praised his charges spirit and hunger after they defeated Terengganu FC 4-0 at home on Friday, in their second leg FA Cup quarter-final match.
The comprehensive win, thanks to goals by Faisal Halim (7'), Dickson Nwakaeme (p. 48', 63) and Mohamadou Sumareh (74'), gave the Elephants a 5-2 win on aggregate, and returned them to winning ways again, after their previous three matches had ended in two defeats and one draw.
Pahang vs Terengganu match highlights
"Today my team played well again like they had at the start of the season, to overturn the 2-1 first leg defeat. Every single one of them was disciplined, and combined with the return of Safuwan [Baharudin] and Dickson, they were able to bounce back.
"The substitutes too performed splendidly. Everyone I brought on made an impact; Kogi (Kogileswaran Mohana Raj), Saddil [Ramdani] and Wan Zaharulnizam [Wan Zakaria]. The team still kept to the plans even after they were introduced, and they each had chances that were only denied by the goalframe.
"I had no doubt that we could win today, but I was still concerned about the margin, when conceding an away goal can undo the good work. But praise Allah, the early goal provided them with the motivation to push for more, and not once did they play defensively after taking the lead. Helmi (goalkeeper Helmi Eliza Elias) only had the ball a couple of times; the rest of the time, it was us doing most of the attacking," remarked Dollah in the post-match press conference.
But although the former Malaysia head coach wants his team to carry the momentum into their coming matches the victory may come at a heavy price.
"We're going to face JDT [in the Super League] afterwards; which is always a tough encounter. But Nwakaeme seems to have been hurt again and I hope it's nothing serious.
"His mere presence on the pitch is enough to boost his teammates' confidence," he noted.
Pahang will face the winner of the Perak-PKNP FC quarter-final tie in the semis.
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