PETALING JAYA: Kelantan City know that going toe-to-toe with a star-studded Kuching City side in the FA Cup quarter-final second leg tomorrow could spell disaster.
And to keep pace with them, one of their most experienced players, winger Wan Zaharul-nizam Zakaria (pic), says the A1 Semi-Pro League side must be defensively solid, and be prepared for another 30 minutes of extra time.
The 35-year-old Zaharulnizam believes the tie remains wide open, and that he and his teammates have the chance to do something special and book a place in the semi-finals when the return leg is played at the State Stadium in Kuching tomorrow.
Kelantan City successfully contained Kuching in the first leg in Kota Baru on Sept 20, which ended goalless.
“We will try to defend as best as possible,” said Zaharulnizam.
“Even if it has to go to a penalty shootout, that is fine, because we are concerned that playing too openly, especially against a quality team like them, will leave us behind,” he said.
A shock win via a penalty shootout, he hopes, could follow.
Such a result would be a dream for the newly minted club, who are looking to write their own Cinderella story in the competition.
Aware of the quality in The Cats’ ranks, the former national player said Kelantan need to be smarter in finding space to counter-attack.
“We know that playing away is definitely going to be tougher, especially since Kuching City have many quality players, particularly their foreign imports,” said Zaharulnizam, who first came to prominence with Harimau Muda in 2010 and went on to play for clubs like Kelantan, Pahang and Melaka.
“However, I feel the chances are still 50-50 for both teams, and they have also just finished playing against Tampines Rovers on Wednesday, so we’ve observed how they play as well.
Zaharulnizam, who has won two caps with Malaysia, though would be expected to try to mount counter-attacks for the team with his wing wizardry.
