Kota Kinabalu: Sabah will play it smart in the friendly match against Sarawak at the Likas Stadium today starting at 4.15pm. Milomir Seslija said on Friday that he will instruct the players to play it tight and intelligently as the visiting team are very disciplined and seldom makes mistakes. "We played against them 10 days ago in Kuching that ended with a 1-1 draw and the Sarawak team is a much improved side than last year and they are waiting to pounce when we make the slightest of mistakes, so the players need to be very focused."
He said the match would serve as a very good measure to see how the players fare against the Super League team. "I wouldn't be putting any pressure on the players. I just want them to play at their 100 per cent and try to prevent the Sarawak players from capitalising on our mistakes and at the same time be aware of their set pieces which are quite good as well."
He said the Sabah team is still in pre-season training and they had two tough training sessions on Friday and he will also use the match today and try out as many players as he can. He also said that he has not made up his mind who are his starting 11 players as he has 15-16 players that are good enough for the first team. "I do not have a fixed 11 players to start in any match.
It all depends on the opponents and the strategy that I want to employ, so it is very difficult for me to disclose it now." The coach again called on the fans to come to the stadium to watch them play as their support is very much needed with the season opener sets to start in less than a month's time. "This is going to be our first real match against a very good team to be held here before the season starts.
Although I cannot guarantee that this is going to be an excellent game but I can assure the fans that it is definitely going to be tough as both teams will try to exploit each other's weaknesses." Meanwhile, fans' favourite Rozaimi Abd Rahman who only turned up for his first training session with the team on Friday is set to be featured in the match as well but is unlikely to make the start.
The most likely starting line-up today are goalkeeper Fadzli Paat; Defenders - Arumugam Varathan, Predrag Pocuca, Reithaudin Emran, Julamri Muhammad; Midfielders - Ezaidy Khadi, Srecko Mitrovic, Redzuan Nawi, Rosdin Wasli and strikers - Marwan Sayedeh, Farid Ideris.
