The Rhinos midfielder, Miguel Cifuentes (left), in action against Macarthur FC in the AFC Cup ASEAN zonal semifinal at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in Leumeah on Tuesday. – Photo credit Sabah FC.
KOTA KINABALU (Feb 14): Datuk Ong Kim Swee believed Sabah FC involvement in the AFC Cup would serve them well to face the challenges in the new football season.
The Rhinos fell in the ASEAN zonal semifinal of the competition, losing 3-0 to their Australian hosts Macarthur FC on Tuesday but Kim Swee preferred to see the positive side of things from playing against some of the top teams in Asia.
“We need this kind of game to improve individually, as a young player and as a team,” he told reporters after the game played at the Campbelltown Sports Stadium in New South Wales.
“It’s a good learning experience for our boys, to learn how to cope playing in very high intensity matches, especially at Asian level.
“With the experience that we have in this AFC Cup, I believe that the players will gain something and build their confidence for the new season.
“At the same time, I hope the management will always support us in term of our preparation if we want to do well.
“We will be competing in the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Championship Cup and that will be something that we are looking forward to.
“I believe if we keep on doing what we are doing and with the same players that we have, definitely we can improve a lot. We we are looking forward to the new season in Malaysia,” he added.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) has nominated the third and fourth placed teams in the Super League 2023 – Sabah FC and Kedah Darul Aman FC respectively – to compete in the 2024 ASEAN Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Kim Swee said the lack of match fitness was among the reasons the Rhinos fell at the ASEAN zonal semifinal stage of the AFC Cup.
He also said the fact that the country’s football scene was currently on a transition period. Switching the new season kick-off to May instead of in January too has affected their preparation for the crucial tie.
Tuesday’s game was Sabah FC’s first in two months following the conclusion of the Super League in mid December last year.
“Like I said before the game we lacked of match fitness but we came here with a plan and we executed it very well until the first goal towards the end of the first half.
“We conceded the second early into the second half and it definitely disrupted our rhythm.
“The boys however showed very good attitude even though we knew it was not going to be easy. We tried to fight back but we conceded again for the third goal.
“We lacked concentration towards the end, everybody was getting tired and that was when the mistakes happened.
“Nevertheless, Macarthur have better qualities and players who can change the game at any time … we have our chances but failed to convert them,” said Kim Swee.
Commenting further, Kim Swee believed that the Rhinos would have been able to give Macarthur FC an even better fight had they had competitive matches before the clash.
“Unfortunately, we are not into our pre-season yet. After tonight’s game (against Macarthur) we are going to have another off season because we only start (the new Malaysian League) in May.
“Definitely it won’t help us in term of preparation where else Macarthur have been playing regularly and rotate the players week in week out.
“I believed that if we have two or three matches before the game, we could have given a good fight and probably achieved something out of it too but in football, if you don’t play this is what happens,” said Kim Swee.
In the match, Jeb Drew impressed by setting up team captain Ulises Da Vila for the opener in the 40th minute before the 20-year-old right winger grabbed a brace in the 46th and 79th minutes to cement victory, thus extending Macarthur FC’s unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions.
