Sarawak Shot Down By Army

BY JEREMY VENO, easterntimes

KUCHING: Excuses are getting obsolete, echoed fans after the final whistle of a horrendous performance by the State team when they were thrashed 3-0 by ATM at the Sarawak Stadium, here, on Friday night.

Sounds of frustrations can be heard as spectators left the stadium, each vowing under their breathe not to return to watch the next match to avoid disappointment.

Recording their third loss after five matches, Sarawak now sit second bottom of the 13-team table with two points - a far cry from the maximum 15 points that the team can get.

It is high time for the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) to take a step back and avoid making “creative” excuses on the team’s dismal performance as the unavoidable bitter pill needs to be swallowed.

The meagre points through the goalless opening match against PDRM and the 1-1 draw against Selangor PKNS are nothing to shout about as the team only scored two goals and conceded nine. They lost 1-4 to KL Felda United and 1-2 to Harimau Muda.

Self-Belief The Key To S’wak Success: Zaki

By Martin Yee, easterntimes

KUCHING: Self belief. That’s the key word that coach Zaki Sheikh Ahmad will be drumming into the Sarawak players when they meet ATM in a home match where they desperately need a morale boosting win to salvage their morale.

Zaki used the last match against Harimau Muda where Sarawak lost 0-1 as the benchmark for their behaviour and performance.

In the match, Sarawak started well attacking in the opening minutes and even hit the post and dominated the game but when Harimau scored the only goal through a counter attack, the team just crumbled.

“They must have self-belief and they need to get the goals early which will relief the pressure on them.
“When the team conceded a goal, they just lost their composure and their game go to pieces.

“They should also change their attitude and one thing I want them to do is to start talking and stop shouting to one another.

“Yesterday (Wednesday) in the training, I told the strikers to buck up and don’t blame the others if they failed to score.

“They must score to release the pressure on them,” said Zaki.

The Sarawak players in fact can win matches as they got the chances to score against a top side like Harimau Muda in the last match.

Against ATM tonight, Zaki is confident they can pull off their first win to get the pressure off the backs of the players as he said they had to win it for the fans.

He said ATM are big spenders - having started training early in October - the same as other teams like FELDA FC and had won once, drew twice and lost once and lying in sixth position with four points.

“We have to win this one. There is no two ways about it and we have to win it for the fans,” said Zaki on tonight’s match against the Army boys whom Sarawak had beaten once, drew once with and lost one to last season.

Sarawak beat them 6-1 at home in the FA Cup but drew with them away while in a league match towards the end of the season, a dispirited Sarawak side suffered a shock defeat to.

The Sarawak side opened the season with a goaless draw at home against PDRM, lost 4-1 to FELDA FC away, then drew 1-1 against PKNS in a match they were supposed to win.

In their last match against Harimau Muda, they came away with a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Zaki said he will emphasise on the mental aspect of the players which had been in a main letdown.

He added that against FELDA, the players were strangely off-coloured as they played a jittery first-half, perhaps overawed by the number of national and former national players in their opponents.

Even in the last match against Harimau Muda, Zaki noted that most of the players did not have the right match temperament and need to be instilled the discipline of the game.

With Fadley Kassim the only casualty as he will miss the match due to red card suspension he received in the last three minutes of the match against Harimau Muda, Zaki will have other options in Hairol Moktar, Aris Ismail or Morris Jagan as the replacement to team up with Wong Sai Kong.

Upfront he will go for Zamri Morshidi-Effendi Malek combination which is more effective with striker Azralan Azmi on the bench while Shahrol Saperi and brother Azizan who have recovered from injury will be on both flanks while in central midfield, Abang Zafari Othman will likely partner Rafiz Ismail.

In defence, Firdaus Morshidi may have to give way to Dzulazlan Ibrahim on the left back role while Mazwandi Zekeria will man the right flank.

FAS, ISN Has To Work On Players’ Attributes Together

BY JEREMY VENO,Easterntimes

KUCHING: A bond has to be made between the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) and the National Sports Institute (ISN) to ensure that the young state players’ physical and mental attributes are at the top of their game.

Zaki Sheikh Ahmad after putting pen to paper as the head coach to the young team got a surprise when he found out that the association is not working hand in hand with ISN. 

He noted that several of the players are clueless when it comes to their diet before matches and during half time breaks.

“What I had seen is, these players are eating four to five bananas before matches, and they even drank the isotonic drinks like plain water. All these do more bad than good on their performance on the field,” said Zaki who had observed the players attitude in the past four matches. 

Being a former assistant coach to the national team, Zaki is left with no choice but to take the leash and educate several of the players on the proper food intake, nurturing them like a father to a child.

Zaki Laments Players ‘Bad Habits’

By Martin Yee, Easterntimes

KUCHING: Coach Zaki Sheikh Ahmad is not happy with the Sarawak players repeating their “bad habits” which cost them to pay heavily as they had yet to win after four matches including the last away match to Harimau Muda where they lost 0-1.

The main problem with the team is that they lost patience and discipline by making mistakes which cost them and the team dearly.

The red card awarded to centreback Fadley Kassim with only five minutes remaining in the game was a case in point as the team will lose the key defender for the next two matches due to automatic suspension.

“The players are not patient. They easily lose their concentration and focus even if there are a few minutes left in the game and they should be more patient to hold on to the game.

“Though their weaknesses is failure to convert the chances, they have to keep on trying and play hard. The goals will come if they keep on doing their best,” said Zaki.