ALMEIDA READY FOR ‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE’
Melaka coach must come up with ‘how to beat JDT’ plan
AJITPAL SINGH ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my
COACH Eduardo Almeida will hold a special place in the annals of Melaka football history if the Portuguese guides his club into the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup.
For the record, Melaka have only made two semi-final appearances since the inception of the Malaysia Cup in 1921. They reached the semi-finals in 1963 and 1983, losing to Selangor in both appearances.
Almeida, who replaced Eric Williams in June, however, has a near-impossible mission as his side have been drawn to face mighty Darul Ta’zim in the quarter-finals.
Melaka will host the first leg at Hang Jebat Stadium tomorrow, followed by the return leg at Larkin Stadium on Sept 24.
For the record, Darul Ta’zim have not lost at home since the 21 defeat to Felda United in a Malaysia Cup knockout match on Nov 28, 2015.
Unlike in previous seasons, Darul Ta’zim are taking the Malaysia Cup seriously, following their poor showings in the AFC Cup and FA Cup.
In the Super League, Darul Ta’zim hammered Melaka 7-0 at home in April, but the return match ended 1-1 at Hang Jebat Stadium on the following month.
“It has been a long time since Melaka made the semi-finals. Of course, I would love to bring joy to our fans by guiding Melaka to the last four,” Almeida told yesterday.
“But it will be very difficult against Darul Ta’zim. They are
Timesport the strongest team in the country... we will just try our best and see how things go.
“The key is the first leg on Friday. We will do our best to make a good game. Of course, the target is to win the first leg, but if it does not happen then we will focus on the Super League.”
Almeida has also done his homework on Darul Ta’zim and their coach Ulisses Morais.
“Morais and I are both Portuguese. I have been following his work since his coaching days in Portugal. He emphasises on tactical play and set-pieces.”
Almeida hopes Macedonian centre-back Jasmin Mecinovic and Croat striker Marko Simic will regain full fitness from injuries for the first leg.
Mecinovic has not featured for the last three months due to a knee problem, but he is already back in training, while Simic is racing against time to regain fitness following a leg injury in training.
The winner of this tie will face either Perak or Pahang in the semi-finals.