KUALA TERENGGANU: The red card received by Terengganu’s midfield general Lee Tuck during last season’s Malaysia Cup final is still fresh on the Englishman’s mind despite the fact that the incident took place four months ago.
In fact the 30-year-old midfield enforcer admits that he has endured sleepless nights because of the unfortunate incident where he was given his marching orders by referee Suresh Jayaraman in the 66th minute after he received a second yellow card during last season’s Malaysia Cup final that was played on October 27th at the Shah Alam Stadium.
However Tuck, who is on the verge of becoming a naturalised player because of his Malaysian heritage through his grandmother, does not want to dwell on the sad incident as he is determined to put it behind him and focus on helping The Turtles defeat visitors Perak in the Super League clash at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu this Friday.
“Yes it is hard to forget especially when talking about that particular incident when I was shown the red card, apart from the match being history as it was like a ‘circus’ that was littered with all sorts of ‘drama’ and incidents that by right should not have happened.
“All the fans remember that final, it was a painful but valuable experience for us, but to be honest, I do not want to look back or dwell on the past be it good or bad, because we have a mission which is to record a much needed victory by playing a good, clean game.
“I am not saying that my fellow teammates should forget that fateful incident as soon as possible or not get emotional, but instead we should be more focused and work together to put up a really good performance for the upcoming match,” Tuck pointed out.
During last season’s Malaysia Cup final which ended in a 4-1 defeat on penalties for the Turtles after both sides ended the match tied 3-3. Both sides also had to play with 10 men as apart from Tuck, Perak’s Brazilian 30-year-old Brazilian forward Gilmar da Silva also received his marching orders in the 55th minute.
When asked if The Turtles can exact revenge for the painful defeat during last season’s Malaysia Cup final, Tuck, who won the Most Popular Player Award during last year’s National Football Awards (ABK), refused to be too adamant on the matter.
“It is our mission to take all three points up for grabs to continue with our winning ways especially as we will be playing in front of our very own fans, but I dare not promise 100 per cent because in football, just about anything can happen.
“However I have a strong, firm belief in my fellow teammates and we must execute our game plan as best we can throughout the 90 minutes or so because it is going to be one really tough yet exciting, thrilling encounter,” he said.