By K. RAJAN (The Star) – PETALING JAYA: Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak is none too pleased with the ‘kampung football’ creeping into his team’s game although they swept into the second round of the AFC Cup by topping Group H. 

The Red Warriors finished with 13 points when they defeated Ayeyawady United of Myanmar 1-0 with striker Nwoha Onyekachi scoring in the 47th minute at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru on Tuesday. “We played well for the first 70 minutes and scored the winning goal,” said Hodak. 

Always a handful: Kelantan’s Mohamad Ghaddar (left) beating an Ayeyawady United player to the ball during their AFC Cup match at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium on Tuesday. — SAZUKI EMBONG / The Star

“After that, the team played kampung football, Mohd Ghaddar was selfish after we scored and all the others followed suit. 

“I think the rotation policy is one of the factors for the kampung football. Some players are still not familiar with each other’s game and we need to fix it.” 

The former UPB-MyTeam coach said he will focus on keeping the team’s tactical discipline in training. 

“There has to be consistency as well as discipline.  

“The players were showboating against Kedah in the FA Cup semi-final second leg while against Ayeyawady, they were playing like novices,” said Hodak. 

“But then they played well against Lions XII.  

“That’s what I mean when I say they lack tactical discipline. At the moment, the team is only disciplined for 60-70 minutes of a game.  

“They will perform much better when I manage to instil the tactical discipline. The players are also tired as they have been through a congested fixture. They will improve after a break.” 

The Red Warriors will now shift their attention to the Super League match against PKNS on Saturday.  

Kelantan are second in the standings with 34 points from 15 matches. But they have four games in hand over leaders Lions XII, who have 39 points from 19 matches. 

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