The Red Warriors have taken an unassailable lead in the group to qualify for the quarter-finals. And coach B. Sathianathan said that he would put the reserves to test against defending champions Kedah in Alor Setar on Saturday and against Armed Forces at home on Tuesday.
“The senior players will take a break as they have accomplished the mission in the group competition,” said Sathianathan from Kota Baru yesterday.
The former national coach added that it was now for the untested players to make the best of the opportunities to prove their worth.
“I want them to show me why they should be in the first team. If they can live up to expectations, they will get into my plans for the knockout stage,” said Sathianathan.
Kelantan kept intact their 100% win record in the group with a 2-1 victory over Penang 2-1 at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru two days ago.
The Red Warriors had beaten Penang (2-1), Kedah (1-0) and Forces (2-1) and with 12 points after four matches, they have opened an eight-point lead over Kedah and Penang. Forces are at the bottom of the table on two points.
In the quarter-final match-up, Kelantan will play against the winners of Group A, which now has KL Plus and Perlis in the battle to take the top spot. KL Plus now have 10 points – one point more than Perlis. The quarter-final first-leg matches are scheduled for Oct 20.
“We want to have the best men available for the quarter-finals. Therefore we won’t take the chances and risk injury or suspensions in this crucial stage of the competition,” said Sathianathan, who took over the Kelantan hot-seat after Englishman Peter Butler quit last month.
Among the senior hands in the squad are Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Khalid Jamlus, Mohd Nor Farhan Mohd, Che Hishamuddin Hasam, Halim Napi, Azlan Ahmad and Nazrul Erwan Makmor. THE STAR
Smart move by Coach B.Satiananthan fr not using his senior players fr d balance matches since they hv qualified fr Q-Final...
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteBoleh tuan tanya FAM mengapa mereka anjurkan bolasepak pantai di Kuantan pada 15-19 Okt.2009.
Tidak mereka sedar pada 17 Okt. 2009 rakan-rakan kaum India akan merayakan sambutan deepavali?
Macam mana pemain atau pegawai kaum India nak pergi main kejohanan itu. FAM tidak sensitif dalam bab-bab kaum dan ugama. Samalah juga bila FAM anjurkan kursus dan fitness test untuk pengadil baru-baru ini pada bulan puasa ketika orang islam lain sedang sembahyang terwih....
Orang no 1 FAM memang betul seperti yang didakwa, surat kosong pun dia akan sign dan luluskan. Podahhhh. Akai tadak....
Itu sebabnya FAM perlu diterajui oleh orang-orang yang boleh berfikir dan dapat membuat keputusan yang bijak. Kadang-kadang kita merasakan kerja orang-orang di Kelana Jaya tu macam kerja budak-budak UPSR, main hentam saja tanpa memikirkan baik-buruknya.
ReplyDeleteAda kah munasabah dan masuk akal bila mereka menganjurkan kejohanan bola pantai pada hari Deepavali? Mereka tidak menjaga sensitiviti rakan-rakan mereka dari kaum India.
Dulupun mereka telah meminta pengadil lari fitness test dalam bulan puasa? Gunakan otak la sikit wahai para bijak pandai yang mengaku diri itu hebat sangat...
Kedua-dua contoh di atas pastinya menjadikan ketiadaan masa lain yang sesuai sebagai alasannya. Kamu orang yang dibayar gaji berpuluh ribu ringgit hasil dari wang rakyat perlu buka minda dan buat kerja gunakan otak. Bukan setakat duduk goyang kaki dan bikin kerja main ikut suka hati saja.
Itu sebab Windsor perlu segera dibawa masuk ke FAM.
Reputasi B.Sathianathan sebagai bekas pengendali pasukan kebangsaan ditagih oleh penyokong setia Red Warrior setelah dua rakannya M.Karathu (1993) dan K.Rajagobal (2001) pernah membawa Kelantan ke peringkat separuh akhir pada saingan Piala Malaysia
ReplyDeleteAnjur beach soccer masa deepavali? hughhhh syabas FAM..... FAM boleh! 1FAM... 1kepala...1perangai....
ReplyDelete