Kuching City is thirsty for the cheers of the 12th player

KUCHING, Sept. 21: After crossing a solid table with nine consecutive home games in a month, Kuching City FC now craves strong support from fans at home as an additional tonic to continue the challenge of this season.

Kuching City FC's head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak said that the support of supporters is very important as they play a role as 'the 12th player' who can give an injection of enthusiasm to the lineup.

"Yes, of course. Any team needs a 12th.

"Support is very important and it gives extra motivation to the players especially when matches are intense", he said in a TVS interview, today.

According to Aidil, the period was not an easy one when his team had to go through nine matches in a row on the opposing pitch within a month.

"Fans should know, we played nine matches in a row on the opposing court over the course of a month. No team does that kind of thing", he said.

Kuching City had previously recorded a big 6-0 win over Kuala Lumpur City and 5-0 against Kelantan Red Warrior, both at the opposite court.

Aidil's control squad then defeated Sabah FC 2-0 at the Likas Stadium before recording a 2-1 victory over Melaka FC at Hang Jebat Stadium on 12 September.

However, Kuching City also faced challenges in international competition when they lost 1-2 to the Phnom Penh Crown in AFC Champions League Two on 17 September.

In the first leg of the FA Cup quarter-final at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, Kuching City scored a 0-0 draw against Kelantan City.

The series saw Kuching City go through a tight period with most of their latest action taking place in the opposing arena, thus making supporters' support on site very meaningful.

According to Aidil, the cheers of supporters are able to give extra energy to players when faced with the pressures of a match.

"We hope they stay with the team and provide support until the end of the season.

"The fans are part of the team and their presence gives extra energy to the players", he explained.

Kuching City now hopes their '12th player' will continue to fill the stadium and be a source of inspiration in the team's efforts to return to record positive results in the next action.