PETALING JAYA: The goals are beginning to come for Terengganu’s Nigerian striker Ismaheel Akinade (pic) and that was on show during their FA Cup quarter-final first leg game against Sabah.
The 30-year-old fired a brace in the 37th and 45th minutes to help the Turtles sink the Rhinos 4-0 at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak on Friday.
The other goals were scored by Filipino international midfielder Manny Ott (ninth) and Croatian midfielder Marin Pilj (42nd).
Akinade, a former Kelantan player, had only scored once in four Super League matches but his form in the FA Cup bodes well for the East Coast side as they are missing the services of Croatian striker Ivan Mamut, who is recovering from an Achilles heel injury.
Akinade, however, said a player’s form or ability should not be defined by goals but by how they perform overall on the field.
“For me, I also value making assists as well as scoring. The other contributions like tracking back and making tackles are also important,’’ he said.
He added that it was great to have a huge lead from the first leg but urged his teammates not to throw caution to the wind when they head to Sabah for the return leg on July 6.
“In the second leg, Sabah will be going all out and we need to defend well. Even in our 4-0 win, some of our defending was shaky because we gave the ball away too easily. On another day, Sabah would have punished us.’’
Akinade is also beginning to form a potent trident partnership with fellow attackers and wingers Safawi Rasid and Akhyar Rashid.
“We combine well because our communication is good. Even off the field, we share a really good bond.”
