Felda coach hopes his men will stay vigilant at all times
PETALING JAYA:
Felda United coach B. Sathianathan (pic) hopes lightning will not strike twice when they resume their Premier League campaign against UiTM at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam tonight.
The Fighters were given a rude shock when unfancied MISC-MIFA thrashed them 3-0 in their last league match at home on May 12. The surprise loss also ended their 10-match unbeaten run.
Despite the defeat, Felda still hold a comfortable lead in the 11-team league standings with 26 points from 11 matches. Second placed Felcra are eight points behind with 18 points.
Sathianathan said the loss to MISC-MIFA should be a lesson to his players to not underestimate their opponents.
“I see that win as a flash in the pan for MISC-MIFA. We lost because our team had an off day.
“We had two ‘off days’ this season and we lost both matches because it was too late for us to get back into the game,” said the former national team coach yesterday.
“I’m not too fixated on having an unbeaten record this season. We still have a good lead in the standings. So I’m OK although we lost our last match.
“They have to remember that others teams will be extra motivated to beat us because we are the league leaders.”
Felda will be playing their first match during the fasting month and Sathianathan said that it will be a trial and error process for his team to get their match preparation right.
“Players will break fast at 7.30pm and we need to leave for the stadium before a match at 8pm. So there’s not much time. We need to plan on what the players should consume before the match,” said the 59-year-old coach.
All matches in the Premier League kick off at 10pm during the fasting month.“