After earning only a point from their opening match in the Malaysia Cup campaign against Johor FC last Wednesday, LionsXII will be looking to take advantage of playing at home in their second game against Selangor PKNS FC.
Coach V.Sundramoorthy was a frustrated man after seeing how his side was not able to convert chance after chance presented to them in the first game. But thankfully for the former Lions international, the other match in the group involving Johor FA and PKNS ended in a draw too.
With Sufian Annuar and Khairul Nizam still unavailable due to injury, the Dazzler will be hoping that makeshift striker and captain Shahril Ishak will be able to pull the trigger come Saturday, supported by the adventurous Yasir Hanapi and Shahdan Sulaiman in midfield.
Captain marvel Shahril will definitely not be taking his opponent lightly as PKNS has at times, the ability to notch up a respectable result even when the odds are stacked against them is evident in several league matches.
“We can’t take PKNS easily as they are a decent team and have beaten us before," said Shahril.
"Plus our natural strikers such as Sufian Anuar and Khairul Nizam are out injured and Agu Casmir is not fully fit yet. So the responsibility lies upon us all in the team to look for goals in the game.”
LionsXII will also be hoping that custodian Hyrulnizam Jumaat continues his superb performance between the posts as shown in their opener against Johor FC at Pasir Gudang stadium.
Hyrul is not thinking too much about the results as he believes that if the team played to their best and as planned, the three points will eventually arrive: “It is our first home game in the Malaysia Cup and we should just focus on doing well in front of the loyal fans.”
With a strong home support, the LionsXII will certainly would not want to disappoint them and will do all it can to muster up a spirited performance and grab all three points.
