NO QUESTION OF DIVIDED LOYALTY
JDT forward Safawi committed to team in M-Cup semis against home state Terengganu
JOHOR Darul Ta’zim (JDT) forward Safawi Rasid is committed to the Southern Tigers’ cause when he takes to the field against his home state, Terengganu, in the Malaysia Cup semi-final first leg in Kuala Terengganu tomorrow.
The Dungun-born player said even though he will be lining up against Terengganu, he is clear on where his loyalty is, which is with his employers, JDT.
“Yes, I will be playing against the team from my home state but I am a professional and my loyalty and commitment are to JDT,” he said yesterday.
“I will play to ensure that JDT emerge victorious.
“So there should be no doubts as to where I stand.
“We made it through a tough quarter-final where we managed to overcome mighty Pahang, and that was no easy task,” Safawi said.
“Even though I scored twice to ensure that JDT advanced to the semi-finals (3-1 aggregate win), I was still not really happy with my performance.
“We have two really tough matches to get through in order to make it to the final.
“We are very determined to make the final as we do not want all our hard work, sweat, and sacrifices to go to waste.
“Even though we were not really consistent in the group stage, we still managed to pull through,” he added.
The skillful left footer has notched an impressive 16 goals for the Southern Tigers and he has proved that local players can be on par with imports.
Safawi’s impressive goals haul has earned praises from manager Luciano Figueroa.
Safawi is a player who prides himself on making speedy runs into the opponents’ penalty area to score or lay on scoring opportunities for his teammates.
According to Safawi, Terengganu’s strength lies in their 30-year-old Ivorian captain, Kipre Tchetche who is clever at sniffing out opportunities in the penalty box while 30-year-old English midfielder Lee Andrew Tuck is the east coast’s side driving force.