| Fadhil Yunus |
DPMM FC head coach Steve Kean admitted Tampines Rovers FC were the better side during his side 2-1 victory in the Singapore League Cup on Thursday.
However, Kean also suggested that that they can expect an alternative way of winning games considering the manner of their latest victory.
“I was delighted with the result but in all honesty I felt Tampines played better than us tonight,” said Kean in a post-match press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
“They certainly kept the ball better and they had more chances. We were quite poor in that aspect but I think what we’ve showed tonight there’s more than one way to win the game,” he continued.
“If you are really dogged and tough to break down, and then just trying to play on the break, then that’s what we had to do because we couldn’t penetrate.”
DPMM FC players celebrate Adi Said’s opener during their 2-1 win over Tampines Rovers
Kean felt the absence of Paulo Sergio in the squad with the Portuguese serving the first game of his suspension and is set to miss the semi-final against Home United on July 26.
“We really missed Sergio tonight and if I were in the Tampines dressing room tonight I would have been disappointed that they’ve never got more out of the game because I thought they were much better than us with the ball,” concluded Kean.
Meanwhile, Tampines coach Akbar Nawas commended his players despite seeing their eight-game winning streak snapped.
“From the start, I told the players that the result is for me to take and what I want to see is the performance. What a performance from them. I can’t take anything away from them,” he said.
“The players played their hearts out,” the head coach continued who now braces a gigantic clash against defending champions Albirex Niigata (S) in the semi-finals.
He acknowledged the difficulty of playing a DPMM FC side holding a physical advantage than their younger players.
“It is not easy to play a DPMM FC team where physically we lost out with the younger players. Every time we tried to get into the attacking third physically we were a bit lacking but that’s obvious because we have youngsters in the team.”
The head coach also defended goalkeeper Joey Sim for his error which led to DPMM FC’s winner.
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