Wing Hoong out to beat buddy Victor for ‘mother of all golds’

PERAK coach Chan Wing Hoong will set his friendship with his Kedah counterpart Victor Andra aside when their teams clash in the football final at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh tonight.

Wing Hoong and Victor have often crossed paths during their playing days in the M-League in the 2000’s and they also featured together for the national team under Englishman Allan Harris in 2002.

The 41- year- old Wing Hoong said both of them will be out to prove themselves as top coaches and friendship would resume after the final whistle.

“Victor is a good friend of mine and both of us have an important match in our hands tomorrow. I wish him good luck and we will both try to get our teams to win the Games’ mother of all golds,” said Wing Hoong.

Defending champions Perak entered the final after edging Sabah 2-1 in the semi-final at the Manjung Municipal Council Stadium on Monday, while Kedah upset President’s Cup champions Terengganu 2-1 after extra time at the TLDM Stadium in Lumut.

Wing Hoong admitted that his side would be the favourites playing in front of the partisan crowd but warned that the home support could also backfire.

“We’ve to be careful in this game, our supporters would want us to play an all out attacking game but we have to keep our tactical discipline,” he said.

“We know that Kedah attackers are speedy and can keep the ball well, so they can be lethal with their counter- attacking moves. The players must stick to our game plan and be patient.

“The good news is that all our players are available for the final so I can plan better on how to handle Kedah.

“They had played longer than us but a final is a different ball game and anything can happen,” he added.