PETALING JAYA: Perak know it won’t be easy to get past Kuala Lumpur in their Super League football clash today, but they don’t intend to head back to Ipoh empty-handed.
Perak coach Yusri Che Lah admitted that the KL team are a well-gelled unit, and getting through them will take focus on their part when they meet at the Cheras Football Stadium.
“KL are a team that don’t need time to get united. If you look at their line-up, it’s almost the same players that are being fielded for each game,” he said.
“That shows that their understanding of each other is very good, and that’s why the same players are playing.
“In my opinion, KL are among the strongest teams in the league. They have good players, and despite their points deduction, they are doing well.
“They are quite hard to take down, so I’m very focused on the task at hand. I’m sure the players are very focused as well.
“Any slip-up will be costly for us, and we don’t want to go back empty-handed.’’
Yusri added that with Perak having played their last match on March 8, their match intensity will be something to look at, added with the team having just celebrated their Hari Raya.
“The players need to keep themselves ready all the time. But I am worried about the match intensity because even though we have been training, there has been almost 30 days without a match for us.
“So it’s pretty much damage control for us. We lost an import player due to injury recently so the tests for the team are getting tougher.
“But these tests are also for our players to capitalise on and deliver a good performance,” he said.
For the match against KL, Yusri said the squad will have players from the Under-23 squad, thus giving them a chance to prove their worth.
Perak are currently seventh in the Super League with 24 points, while Kuala Lumpur are one spot above in sixth with 28 points.
After today’s match, Perak’s final two fixtures will be against Pahang on April 12 and Sabah on April 20.
