Sabah FC foreign import Levy Madinda (centre) in action against Kuching City FC in a friendly match in Cheras on March 28.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah FC warmed up for the upcoming Super League fixtures with a comfortable 4-1 win over FAM-MSN Project Squad in a friendly match in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
The victory ensured the Rhinos concluded with two wins in as many practice matches having defeated Kuching City FC 3-0 on March 28.
Head coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto was encouraged by the positive results, saying it showed the squad is getting better with the chemistry and combination among the players.
He said the victories also showed that the squad was heading in the right direction and through the matches, that the coaches were able to rectify the weaknesses including on converting chances into goals.
“We take the game against FAM-MSN as example…Bobby (Gonzales) scored in the second minute, Saddil (Ramdani) in the 48th minute, Amri (Yahya) in the 49th minute and Levy (Madinda) in the 80th minute.
“They are all out attacking players and it is very pleasing to see that the team is showing good combination especially up front.
“They were able to maintain their momentum and followed the instructions given.
“We stressed on the players to make more passes into the dangerous areas in the opponents’ half as well as to attack and defend in numbers.
“It worked…we were able to score more goals,” said the Indonesian trainer.
As for the first game that saw Saddil, Randy Baruh and Maxsius Musa on the scoresheet, Kurniawan said it was an evenly contested match.
“Kuching City FC have some very experience players and that is why we tried to get the early goals to inject confidence into the team.
“Anyway, we’ve achieved our target in the friendly matches, which was to win both the matches,” he said.
Kurniawan went on to say that the matches served as ideal preparation for Sabah FC as they look forward to taking Kuala Lumpur City FC in Cheras on April 3.
“The team has made improvement in the past few matches and it says a lot about the combination between the foreign imports and local players…they understand more of the team game plan.
“What’s certain is that we have taken note of the things needed to be improved. We have two days to make preparations including our tactical play to face KL City FC,” he said.
The Rhinos, who ended a four-game winless run with a 2-1 home win over Terengganu FC in their last outing, are currently 10th in the 12-team table on four points (one win, one draw, three losses).
KL City FC, on the other hand, are on seven points to occupy fouth placing in the league that Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) currently lead on 11 points.
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