Kota Kinabalu: Datuk Ong Kim Swee is confident Sabah FC’s winning momentum is intact despite the one-month break when they take on Sri Pahang at Likas Stadium tonight (Saturday).
The head coach said a victory is vital to ensure they stay in touch with the leaders in the table standing.
Sabah FC are currently in second place with 15 points, one behind Johor Darul Ta’zim FC who have a game in hand.
“We are confident to achieve victory tomorrow night especially with the support of our fans inside the stadium.
“We need to keep our winning momentum going in order to maintain our position in the table standing,” he said on Friday.
He added that a winning result will also boost the players’ confidence ahead of two tough away matches to follow.
“It is going to be very important because a positive result will ensure that we go to the next two matches against Selangor FC on June 28 and Negeri Sembilan FC on July 3 with full confidence.’’
Meanwhile, he said the recent international friendly matches in Indonesia during the break had given him the opportunity to rectify the team’s weaknesses.
“We learned a lot in terms of our strengths and weaknesses during the trip. It helped us in our preparation to face Sri Pahang tomorrow night.”
He also said all the players are in good shape with the exception of Nazirul Naim Che Hashim and Dirga Surdi who are injured.
“Apart from Nazirul and Dirga, all the players are in good physical condition, while Saddil (Ramdani), as we all know, has been heavily involved with the Indonesian national team recently.
“He must be feeling a bit tired but I will monitor his condition before making the final decision of whether to play him for the match tomorrow,” he said.
