KUCHING: In pursuit of the Premier League title, the Crocs must be able to adapt themselves to any playing conditions regardless of when the match is to be played.
As several matches of the season are scheduled during the day, home matches will be of no exception as floodlights in both stadiums are below the requirements of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to hold night matches.
“We have to play smart because of the weather. The attacking styles must be fast,” said coach Zaki Sheikh Ahmad yesterday.
As it is unavoidable to play evenings matches for the 12 teams in the Premier League, Zaki added all teams have to be prepared for day and night matches.
“During the curtain raiser against Pulau Pinang at Batu Kawan, the coastal weather was very hot, however we were accustomed to the playing condition and managed to pull off the four nil win,” said Zaki who saw the Crocs getting a taste of the top of the tables in week one of the season.
Meanwhile in order to condition his players by playing under the hot and humid weather, Zaki had rescheduled their training sessions to 4pm instead of the usual 5pm.
“They must adapt to the hot and humid weather,” he added.
For the first home match against Harimau Muda B at the Sarawak Stadium on Feb 11, Zaki said that the visitors would be made up of a very strong yet young side.
“The team need to maintain their focus, and play accordingly to what they are trained for in order to win the game,” said Zaki, who saw his squad beating Samarahan selection 4-1 on Friday.
In the friendly, state winger Mohd Shahrol Saperi breached the opponents’ net twice as another two were scored by Zamri Morshidi and Bobby Gonzalez.
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