The Kedah head coach knew it was an uphill battle once Renan saw red but wants his charges to learn from the experience.
Kedah could not maintain their winning momentum to the 2020 season after they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of South Korean side, FC Seoul in Tuesday’s AFC Champions League playoff at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. A defeat that curtails any further participation in AFC competition this year for The Red Eagles.
Two yellow cards for Renan Alves in the first half put paid to any hopes of creating an upset and the Brazilian’s dismissal was the start of Kedah’s undoing. Park Chu-young struck the ensuing spot kick and sent Seoul on their way to the group stage.
Opting to go for a more protected approach, Aidil Sharin would have been pleased in the manner which is team held Seoul off until the red card. While disappointed in the defeat, Aidil suggested that his inexperienced team will have plenty to gain even by just competing in the two matches in the competition.
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“We are new to the ACL but definitely we’ll learn something from tonight’s (Tuesday) game. The most important was that my boys worked very hard, they gave 100% and they lose to a better team, so congrats to FC Seoul. As this is Kedah’s first time in the ACL, this is a learning process for us.
“The boys enjoyed the journey from the last game to tonight’s match. Definitely I want the boys to improve themselves and learn from a good game like this. It was not easy for us to play with 10 men after 30 plus minutes. Before the penalty, our boys did very well to contain FC Seoul.
“But unfortunately this is football and we lost one man at a crucial time. Definitely the boys will get tougher and stronger from playing in such a game,” said Aidil in the post-match press conference.
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