He said being a small club in the M-League, KL had not been expected to go far in the AFC Cup.

“We didn’t have high expectations. We are a hardworking team and just a small club. Nobody expected us to win against a much better team but we did. This is our present for Independence Day.

“The AFC Cup win was a fairytale story. We will continue that story and I’m hoping for a happy ending,” he told a news conference last night.

The Croatian coach said his boys’ performance augurs well for the M-League.

“We have proved that we are the best in Asean. JDT also played in the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League so this is a good thing for our league,” he added.

Hodak is confident The City Boys can give their opponents a run for their money in the next stage of the tournament.

“I don’t know who we’ll be facing next, but whether the team is from Uzbekistan or India it is going to be tough,” he said.

KL City beat Indonesia’s PSM Makassar 5-2 in last night’s Asean Zone final.

According to AFC Cup website, KL City are set to meet India’s ATK Mohun Bagan in the inter-zone semifinals.