Pahang to put new signings to the test in Kedah clash

PETALING JAYA: Pahang are ready to field new signings – strikers Austin Amutu and Issey Nakajima – against Kedah in their Super League clash at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar tonight.

The duo, who are a tried-and-tested combination in the M-League, are replacements to the injured Liberian striker Francis Doe and under-performing Cambodian winger Chan Vathanaka.

Amutu had previously represented Kelantan in 2015, scoring eight goals from 14 matches, while Nakajima was with Terengganu from 2015-2016, scoring 32 goals in 61 matches.

The Elephants coach Dollah Salleh said he expects his new signings to shine against the Red Eagles.

“Issey and Austin will get their debut against Kedah and I hope they can produce the performances that they have showed during training and they can make an impact in the first game itself,” said the former national team coach.

“Kedah are one of the best teams in the Super League for the last couple of years. They have an experienced squad. They are hard to beat even on their bad days and this time we are playing at their home, so I expect a tough game.

“But in football anything can happen, we just need to focus on executing our game plan.

“If we manage to do that then we can get a positive result from the match.”

The former international added that they could not afford to drop anymore points as they head towards the business end of the season despite it being smack bang in the fasting month.

The east coast side are third in the 12-team Super League with 18 points after 10 matches, seven points off league leaders and bitter rivals Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).

The Elephants’ title assault suffered a dent after they dropped points at home in their 1-0 loss to Terengganu on May 11 and were then held to a 2-2 draw by Kedah on May 5.

“In the last two matches we dropped points at home, so we can’t afford to drop anymore points because it will be harder to chase the league leaders as we are reaching the halfway mark of the season,”said Dollah.

“But at the same time we must be patient, so I want to it take one match at a time and keep improving our performance. I think this approach will be the best as we still have plenty of matches to play,” he said.