Sabah U-19, KL face off today
The state football under-19 squad is going all out for victory against Kuala Lumpur in the Youth Cup League Group A match at the Penampang Stadium today.
KOTA KINABALU: The state football under-19 squad is going all out for victory against Kuala Lumpur in the Youth Cup League Group A match at the Penampang Stadium today.
The match, which kicks off at 4.15pm, will be the last of their first round fixtures and team manager Azman Mastar said it would be great to cap it off on a high note.
“We have the chance to improve our position (fourth) if we win this match and I guess it is a good motivator for us to try and conclude the first round with a win.
“Three points will also help us to begin our second round challenge from a better position. It is not an easy task because Kuala Lumpur are a good team and they are certain to go for victory just like us.
“But we will try our best to capitalise on the home ground advantage to try and beat them,” Azman said when contacted here yesterday.
Only one point separates Sabah from Kuala Lumpur, who are currently third on 16 points while the former are fourth on 15.
Terengganu FC IV still occupy the top spot on 19 points while Selangor PKNS FC are second on 17.
Also in contention for the top four positions are Perak PKNP FC (14 points) in fifth spot alongside the SSMP-AMD Cougars Under16 squad (Malaysia Sports School Pahang-Mokhtar Dahari Academy Cougars U-16) who are sixth on 13 points.
The top four teams in the standings will make it through to the quarterfinals joined by the other top four from Group B.
“The fight for the top four spots is still open to all teams and therefore, it is important that we get the full points from every game,” Azman said.
On the first-11 line-up, Azman revealed that head coach Mohd Aiyyman Johnny Abdullah will be going with an unchanged squad.
“Any changes, if any, will be minor. I think it will still be the same squad as before including the four under-21 players who joined us from the President’s Cup squad (Joslan Aping- keeper, Muhammad Syahmil Nizamdefender, Mohd Syukri Baharun-midfielder and Mohd Hizaz Lokman-striker),” he said.
Also expected to be featured in the line-up are Abdul Hanafie, Mohd Farhan Airil Aziz, Abdul Rahim Razali (defenders), Leonardo Lisua, Owen Pidu, Mohd Aidil Muhimian (midfielders) and Muhammad Faqhrurazi (striker).
After today’s game, Sabah will begin their second round fixtures in a match against Perak PKNP FC on April 25, also at the Penampang Stadium. The match was brought forward from its original scheduled date which clashed with polling day on May 9.