Kota Kinabalu: Head coach Billyton Vun Ket Ming wants his Under-19 players to keep up their winning momentum in their Group B Youth Cup match against Kedah at Penampang Stadium this afternoon (Wednesday) starting at 4.15pm. He said the victory over Negeri Sembilan has given them a new level of confidence and he hoped it will spur them to get another win today. “The team are getting better with every match and I hope they will play as well, if not better as they did in the second half against Negeri Sembilan,” he said on Tuesday.
“It is very important that they can further improve their mental strength especially when they are leading. “The match on Sunday saw them losing focus after they had taken the lead and they need to be more consistent to avoid that from happening again. “The players cannot underestimate their opponents at this stage of the competition.
I hope they can perform on the pitch what they have learned during training and also to display the same fighting spirit like they did against Negeri Sembilan after they scored the equaliser.” He also said there will not be any changes in the team’s starting line-up and strategy this afternoon. “We will apply the same 4-5-1 formation as we did in the previous two matches. “I believe the system is working well for the team and I will also keep the same set players that started against Negeri Sembilan,” he added.
The players to start today are Fahmi Ikhwan Muhd Azmi in goal, Mohd Faqrul Idris and Seherry Aladin in centre-back positions supported by Rayner Doliente on the right and Farhan Airil Aziz on the left. Skipper Xsevier Xcico Felex will operate from the midfield accompanied by S.A. Radzee Eqmal S.A. Ramli, Johan Mansor with Ahmad Irwanto Rusli and Sahrizan Saidinas on the flanks, and Asmawi Sulikin as the sole striker.
