ALOR SETAR, July 30 — Kedah hopes that all 11 of its players recover from their injuries before the start of the 2018 Malaysia Cup in early August.
Its chief football coach Mohd Nidzam Adzha Yusoff said the performance of the state team has dropped a little as many of its main players could not be fielded, causing it to fail in the bid to be in the top four of Super League which ended last night.
“Admittedly, the team’s performance has dropped in the last five matches of the Super League as many of the players suffered injuries and it was difficult for us to win.
“We tried with the younger players but they have not reached the required level and cannot help the team win, which is why I want them to recover as soon as possible,” he told reporters after the training session between Kedah and PKNP last night.
Among the players he is banking his hopes on are goalkeeper Mohd Ifwat Akmal Che Kasim, Mohd Ariff Farhan Md Isa, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Liridon Krasniqi, Paulo Ranger and Andik Vermansyah.
“Liridon Krasniqi has also promised to return to the country in good shape on August 1, and hopefully he can help boost the spirit of the team and the game,” he said.
Kedah failed to get a place in the top four when it lost to PKNP with a score of 1-3 in the final game of the 2018 Super League at the Darul Aman Stadium last night.
The defeat saw Kedah falling to sixth place in the league, with only 32 points below Terengganu with 34 points.
Meanwhile, PKNP chief coach Abu Bakar Fadzim said he was happy with the players’ performance even though the team ended the Super League games at ninth place below Selangor. — Bernama
