Owona will come good, says coach

JEAN-EMMANUEL Owona's failure to find the back of the net in his last two matches for Terengganu is not a cause for concern for coach E. Elavarasan following Friday's 0-0 draw with Negri Sembilan in Paroi.

Owona was a big hit with Negri last season when he finished joint top-scorer in the Super League with 15 goals but the Cameroon striker has yet to show his predatory instincts for his new team.

Twice late in the first half, Owona had a chance to break the deadlock but was foiled by goalkeeper Hamsani Ahmad each time.

Yet Elavarasan said it was only a matter of time before Owona repays the trust placed in him after also failing to score in the opening 1-1 home draw against Felda United.

"Owona lacks sharpness in front of goal so he has to work on that aspect. It is my job as a coach to get him to score goals," said Elavarasan after the match.

Had Owona taken his chances, Terengganu would have taken home three points, given their domination of the match.

"When we started the game, we were not quite settled down. It took us 20 minutes to settle down but even then we were not playing our usual game.

"Only in the second half, we were more organised but we failed to take our chances and that was the difference (between a win and a draw)," said Elavarasan.

Manaf Mamat's return to the Terengganu starting line-up gave the visitors more possession and control of the midfield while G. Puaneswaran was a constant threat on the right flank.

But stout defending by Negri, led by Vincent Bikana, kept Terengganu at bay and the home side played the last 30 minutes with local players after Bikana and striker Emmanuel De Porras were withdrawn by the hour-mark.

Negri have yet to score a goal this season after losing 1-0 to Selangor in their opening match though coach Divaldo Alves was pleased with his team's performance.

"I congratulate my players as this was a better performance than the last game. This is what I want to see but sadly we did not win the match," said the Portuguese.

"But I think we are going the right way, so let us look forward."