Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC are expecting a tough encounter in their first leg of the Malaysia Cup round 16 tie against Kuching City FC at the State Stadium tomorrow (Saturday) night.
Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said they cannot underestimate their opponents especially with the appointment of Aidil Sharin Sahak as their new head coach.
The former Singaporean international who had a four-year coaching spell with Kedah FC took over from the recently departed Irfan Bakri.
His presence is set to motivate the players for a revenge win over the two defeats by Sabah FC in the league this season.
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“This ‘Borneo Derby’ is the third meeting between us this season. I expect this match to be very intense as usual and we will not underestimate their ability,” he said.
He also revealed that they may not have the services of Saddil Ramdani, Miguel Ángel Garrido Cifuentes (Cifu), Darren Lok and Park Taesu for the match due to injuries.
“Saddil and Cifu are still carrying injuries for almost two week since the match against Kuching City in the league, while Darren and Park sustained injuries during the win over Penang FC.
“Their absence may have some impact on our preparation but we do have other players who are available and ready to take on the task,” he said.
He hopes the defence will improve further after conceding only two goals in the last three matches following the 4-3 win over Kuching City FC.
“Defence is one of our weaknesses but we managed to overcome it after the Kuching City match and conceded no more than one goal in each match since then.
“It is important for us to continue to improve and try our best to prevent the opponent from scoring in every match,” he said.
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