Turtles can’t slow down against basement side Kuala Lumpur
PETALING JAYA: Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti has warned his men not to take bottom side Kuala Lumpur for granted in their Super League clash at the Cheras Football Stadium tonight.
The Turtles came close to chalking up their first win of the season but were held to a 3-3 draw by Johor Darul Ta’zim in Kuala Terengganu last week. Irfan said their confidence was high but they would be cautious against the City Boys.
KL are expected to field their new signing Luke Woodland of the Philippines to shore up their backline after losing their two opening matches.
“We looked good against JDT and were unlucky not to pick up full points from that game. The players are looking more confident after three matches, especially after the performance against JDT,” said Irfan.
“KL are trying to bounce back, they have signed a new defender (Luke) who has played for England’s youth teams – so he should be a very good player.
“My players tend to take matches against lower-ranked teams casually and this is something that can cause problems for us.
“I’ve warned my players to stay focused on getting the job done against KL ... we must not drop points and concede goals in this game.”
The 67- year- old coach said they would be without striker Khairul Izuan Rosli, who is out with a hamstring problem, and has told his skipper Kipre Tchetche to rediscover his scoring touch.
The Ivorian hitman, who scored 24 goals from 33 matches last season, has yet to break his duck this season.
“It’s good to have our local boys scoring the goals but I want our imports to start scoring too. I had a talk with Tchetche and I hope he will get on the scoresheet,” said the former international.