Esteban Solari, head coach of Johor Darul Ta’Zim, was reluctant to blame Syihan Hazmi, the goalkeeper after defeat to Kawasaki Frontale 0-1 in the AFC Champions League 2023/24 Group Stage, Group I at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, last night.
Syihan, made a mistake when he left the goal wide open, which allowed Marcinho to score the only goal in the final minutes of the first half and victory goal of Kawasaki Frontale in this match.
“Perhaps Syihan made an unwise decision to get out of position but I’m reluctant to blame him because the decision was made too quickly and he failed to catch the ball and instead the opposing player had a go at number 23 (Marcinho) to score the only goal of the match.” Solari said in post-match press conference.
“I don’t like losing but if I choose to lose, this is the way to do it because we played well and made the opposing team worried before they won.”
“We should have received a penalty kick after Arif (Aiman Hanapi) was brought down in the penalty box but the referee continued play and I think there was no luck for us.”
“Whatever happened in the second half, we managed to make our opponents breathless after applying pressure with flowing attacks but only failed to find the final finish,”
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