Underdogs Kuching City hungry to bite against Kitchee

KUCHING: Underdogs Kuching City FC are hungry to upset Hong Kong giants, Kitchee SC, in the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) on Thursday night (Oct. 15).

Head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak acknowledged Kitchee’s greater experience in major competitions and history of winning league titles, but insisted his players could rise to the challenge by staying humble and hungry for victory.

“Kitchee have been playing in so many big tournaments over the past few years, and they’ve been champions in the league, while we are not yet.

“I want to be humble, and I want the boys to be hungry, so that they want to do something and win this game,” he said during a pre-match press conference at Stadium Taha Arrifin today.

Aidil said the opportunity to compete in the continental tournament was also a chance to demonstrate Malaysian football’s quality.

“Not all teams in the league in Malaysia get the chance to play this kind of competition. So, definitely we are excited and we want to give our best and to show what level of quality we have”, he added.

Despite a demanding run of fixtures, Aidil said the squad was adapting to short recovery periods, with some injured players recovering while rotation had helped manage fatigue.

Kuching City’s forward, Dylan Wenzel-Halls said Kuching City were determined to respond after their previous continental outing in Cambodia failed to deliver the result they wanted.

“It’s a big opportunity now in front of our home fans, in our home stadium, to put things right,” he said.

The Australian, who previously played continental football with Central Coast Mariners, said the team could not afford to underestimate its opponents.

“Every team is fantastic and there are no easy games. We need to follow the game plan and maintain tactical discipline,” he added.

Dylan said Kuching City’s combinations and understanding were improving despite frequent changes to the line-up, and promised supporters the players would give everything to represent the state and country with pride.