KOTA KINABALU: Sabah FC hope to take advantage of their training camp in Johor to find compatibility among players while maintaining fitness to face the rest of the Super League competition starting July 24.
Head coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto said the squad arrived in Johor Bahru for the training camp on Friday and played a friendly match against Johor Darul Ta’zim II last night at the Tan Sri Dato ‘Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium, Larkin, ending with The Rhinos winning 3-1.
He said The Rhinos are scheduled to play Johor Darul Ta’zim II again in another friendly match at the same stadium tomorrow night, and that the training camp, which complied with COVID-19 prevention standard operating procedures (SOP), would continue until their Super League match against PJ City FC on July 24.
All 26 players brought to Johor Bahru are given the opportunity to play in the friendly matches so that they can feel “match pressure” as well as improve on their fitness.
“These friendlies are very important to find compatibility, strengths and (work on) weaknesses before the meeting against PJ City FC,” he told reporters via the WhatsApp application today.
Commenting on the two new players brought on board, namely import defender Risto Mitrevski and former national defender Nazirul Naim Che Hashim on loan from Perak FC, Kurniawan said the duo had started to show compatibility with the team.
“They already understand and comprehend what is our game plan, both players will be tested in the (Monday) friendly and we hope they will quickly understand and easily adapt to our game plan,” said the coach from Indonesia.
— BERNAMA
