Shorthanded Indera wary of Najip in tonight’s semis

An Indera SC player (R) tries to get past a Wijaya FC player during an earlier match. Indera SC will play Najip FC in the semis of the DST FA Cup 2014 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas tonight.BT/ Sanusi Hussin

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

INDERA SC are facing a dilemma heading into their DST FA Cup 2014 semi-final encounter against Najip FC tonight at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

The two-time DST Super League champions will be missing the services of defender Abdul Mu’iz Sisa due to suspension.

Indera head coach Hj Omar Hj Md Jamil is left with a headache to put in the right replacement ahead of the matchup.

“We have a problem because we will be missing Mu’iz due to two yellow cards,” said Hj Omar in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.

“We will go with the same team like we used against Wijaya FC (in the 4-0 quarter-finals victory) but we have yet to decide who will be able to fill in his position,” he said.

“Najip FC are a strong team overall from the goalkeeper to the striker. It will be a closely contested match and can go any way,” he added.

Asked on what to watch out for against their opponents, Hj Omar replied: “We will have to avoid making any mistakes.

“I believe whichever the team that make the first mistake will lose. But we do hope that we will be the ones to progress into the final,” he added.

The last time both teams met was back on September 7 in the DST Super League whereby Indera strolled to a 5-1 triumph at the same venue.

Najip head coach Johari Hj Bungsu believes that they are the underdogs and know that it will be tough to upend their opponents.

“Indera SC are a team filled with good players and are the favourites. The pressure is on them to win the match,” said Johari.

“We will be looking at fielding a young side as it is different from competing in the league.

”We need to be consistent throughout the 90 minutes and extra time if it is needed,” he added.

“They (young side) have better stamina and just need to remain focused throughout the match and not commit any mistakes. We will definitely give them a good fight,” he continued.

Johari also highlighted that the change in schedule for the matchup to be brought forward also hampered preparations.

Regardless of the result today, the Najip head coach will still be proud of his charges.

“Regardless of a win or loss, it is still a good year for the team after finishing third in the Super League and making it this far in the FA Cup,” said Johari.

“But of course hopefully we will be able to make it into the final,” he concluded.

Kick off is at 9pm.

The Brunei Times