KUCHING: The Challenge Cup semifinals is going to be an acid test for Sarawak as they struggle for a place in the Premier League. The team qualified for the Challenge Cup but will have to play in the Premier League play-off match — losing which means demotion to next year’s M3 League — the third tier league in the Malaysian football. Sarawak coach Mohammad Denny Da’ail’s team got a relief after qualifying for the semifinals and will face UKM FC at Sarawak Stadium, here, on Sept 20 .
Denny admitted that to beat UKM isn’t easy but said their chance is good. “What is important now is that the players need to be confident and focused on winning,” he said.
According to Denny, UKM are a solid and balanced team as they have both good local and import players. “We are working on strengthening our attack and sharpening our finishing as we need to score as many goals as possible in our first leg semifinal,” he said.
Denny added that they are looking forward to qualifying for the final. “Winning the semifinals was also the best preparation for us in the Premier League play-off,” he said. The exact date of the play-off match is yet to be known. The Crocs’ opponents in the play-off will be the M3 League first runners-up — which likely are Kelantan United or Kuching FA. Kelantan United currently lead the league with four points above Kuching FA.
