PETALING JAYA: Kedah coach Aidil Sharin is hoping that third time’s the charm when they take on Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in next year’s Charity Shield clash.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) announced that the season’s curtain-raiser will be held at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri on Feb 26.
Traditionally the Super League champions will face the FA Cup winners, however with the cancellation of the FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup due to Covid-19, the MFL have awarded the slot to league runners-up Kedah.
The Red Eagles will be meeting the seven-time league champions for the fourth time since 2017 when Kedah won.
But since then JDT have prevailed winning 2-1 in 2018 and 1-0 on Feb 28 this year.
“I think it would be a dream for any team to beat JDT since they have been invincible for the past few seasons. I’m confident our players can give them a run for their money, ” said the Singaporean.
“We finished strong in the league to end up second and we also had a good Malaysia Cup campaign before it was cancelled by making the quarter-finals. We will mount a serious challenge this time.”
Aidil said for now he wants the players to take a well-deserved rest before starting their preparation for the new season.
“After a good rest, we’ll slowly work on their fitness. It’s good to know the fixtures early so we can plan our training programmes accordingly, ” he added.
It is learnt that Kedah will release seasoned players Mohd Zaquan Adha Abdul Razak, Khairul Helmi Johari and Azamuddin Mohd Akil.
They are expected to rope in Ariff Farhan Isa (Felda United), Selangor’s Syazwan Zainon, Rodney Celvin and UiTM’s Lebanese winger Rabih Ataya.
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