PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur will have an ace up their sleeve when they take on Sabah in the FA Cup quarter-finals at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu today.
The City Boys’ leftback Nazirul Naim knows the Rhinos well as he played for them from 2021 to 2022.
Although Nazirul has not featured much for KL this season, it is learnt that he could start against Sabah, thanks to his inside knowledge of the team.
But whether he starts or not, Nazirul just wants to help his club bounce back after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kuching City in the Super League last week.
“I’m sure the players are disappointed they didn’t get the win. But we will be positive for the next game. I hope the boys are ready for the match against Sabah,” he said.
“The Sabah team I joined then were different as they have now brought in several new players. As we all know, Sabah have in-form players and they’re getting positive results. You can see the Likas Stadium is always full nowadays. It will be a fierce fight and we will surely go all out to give them a run for their money.’’
Nazirul’s former coach and Sabah tactician Datuk Ong Kim Swee said Kuala Lumpur are a side with great experience in knockout competitions.
He is also aware they are a bogey side for the Borneo team.
In their last match, Sabah lost to Kuala Lumpur 2-0 in the Super League on April 5.
“Teams come to Likas, they play without pressure. KL are good in knockout competitions. We have to be at the same level,” he said.
“Our record against them is not that great. But this is the FA Cup, anything can happen. We have to be ready for any style of play.”
