Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) head coach Benjamin Mora has lashed out against the officials after his side failed to advance to the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Larkin Stadium last night.
The reigning champions were on a mission to record a comeback after losing 3-1 in the first leg in Pahang, and were unfortunately close as well as their 2-1 victory over Dollah Salleh’s side was not enough for them to continue in the competition after losing 4-3 on aggregate.
Benjamin Mora believed that his side should have been awarded two penalties.
“What do we do when the referees are against us? There were two clear fouls. We did not get the first one, but the second was clear as blue sky,” the Mexican said as quoted by Goal.
“I have nothing but respect for referees, but they were awful and it affected the game.
The ex-JDT II boss was in high spirits with how his players approached the game and was delighted with their performance, but it was overshadowed by the poor refereeing decisions.
“The referee’s decisions dampened our spirits but my players fought until the very end. We are definitely going to the win the league if we continue to play like this in every game.
“However, I take full responsibility for the defeat and we just have to move on from here.”
The Southern Tigers were in pole position to qualify for the semi-finals when Argentinians Gabriel Guerra and Gonzalo Cabrerra scored in the opening twenty minutes for the boys in blue, but the Elephants silenced the entire stadium when Mohamadou Soumareh headed the ball in the goal in the dying minutes of the tie to ensure a happy trip back to Kuantan.
Pahang will face Negeri Sembilan in the first semi-final of the FA Cup, whereas Malaysia Cup winners Kedah will face off against Malaysia Premier League (MPL) side Terengganu.
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