Watch him closely: Johor Darul Ta’zim’s Bergson Da Silva will be a threat to Penang in the FA Cup semi-final clash tomorrow. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Zainal Abidin Hassan has always been a fighter who is hungry for titles, having won almost everything in local competitions.
But the Penang coach is afraid that his Panthers have no hunger. With the team up against Johor Darul Ta’zim in the semi-final of the FA Cup tomorrow, he is worried.
“I have a spate of injuries to deal with. Another drawback is the inconsistent form of my players. The hunger is not there. We have not been able to build on the momentum and it is affecting the team’s overall performance,” said Zainal.
However, he is hoping his boys can pull off a stunner against the hot favourites just like they did in the quarter-final tie against Pahang in Kuantan. Penang staged a fightback from 2-0 down to stun the Elephants 5-2 in extra time.
Zainal knows JDT are a different kettle of fish from Pahang. After all, they just whipped reigning Malaysia Cup champions Kuala Lumpur 5-0 on Monday in Hector Bidoglio’s first competitive match after replacing Benjamin Mora.
Penang, meanwhile, have been in yo-yo form, losing to Melaka 4-1 away but stunning Terengganu 2-1 at home in the league.
But they showed their Jekyll and Hyde form again when they slumped to a 2-3 defeat by Sarawak at the City Stadium in another league match.
If there is any bright spark, it’s that JDT could only beat the Panthers 1-0 in their last meeting on July 20 in Johor Baru.
And Zainal is keeping his fingers crossed that his best team will show up tomorrow.
“We cannot allow room for JDT to create chances as they have players who can destroy their opponents with their deadly finishing,” he said.
He singled out Bergson Da Silva, who hit a brace against KL, as the most dangerous player, along with new signing Fernando Forestieri, the former Italy youth international who has plundered 11 goals in 13 appearances.
“JDT strike fear in teams, home or away. However, this is the FA Cup. It is always full of upsets and we are ready for the challenge.”
In the other semi-final to be played on Saturday, Selangor face Terengganu at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak.
