Under-19 squad coach seeks team improvement
KOTA KINABALU: Head coach Mohd Aiyyman Johnny Abdullah is confident that his under-19 squad will improve and be fully ready when the national Youth Cup League kicks off, next month.
“There is still plenty of weaknesses for us to improve and we still have time to do so,” he said when contacted here on Saturday.
Aiyyman was commenting on the team’s 3-2 defeat to the State President Cup under21 squad in a friendly match at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex here on Friday.
The under-19 squad was trailing 2-0 at one point before equalising through goals from Abdul Hanafi Tokyo and Mohd Amirul Afiq. Both teams were level at the break.
The game resumed shortly after but only to be stopped by heavy rain 15 minutes later. Before that another goal was scored by the President Cup squad.
“The team was slow to get into rhythm and lacked confidence knowing that they were up against a more superior opponent. I think these were among the reasons that hindered our players from playing better.
“But I believe there is still enough time to address these problems. We have some good friendly matches coming up and hopefully they will help us to improve,” he said.
On the whole, Aiyyman said he was satisfied with the development of the team and players. He said they were on the right track.
“I can also already see several potential first-11 combinations. I hope the players would continue to work hard as it’s going to be a tough season. There is a standard we must live up to after the previous team did so well last season,” he said.
For the record, the State youth squad notched its best achievements in the last two seasons after reaching the quarter-finals in 2016 and the knockout stage last year.