Sports

Tuesday March 10, 2009

Johor FC relish AFC Cup debut

By LOGANATH VELLOO

GEORGE TOWN: The Johor FC players have been told to just enjoy the experience when they make their AFC Cup debut against VB Sports Club of Maldives at the JCorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang tonight.

Johor FC, who are in Group F, which also has PSMS Medan of Indonesia and South China of Hong Kong, can count themselves lucky to feature in the regional competition.

The two slots for Malaysia are for the Super League and FA Cup champions. Kedah clinched both titles last year and Super League runners-up Negri Sembilan were offered the second slot. But the Deer declined the offer and Johor FC, who finished third in the league, took up the chance to feature in the Asian clubs’ second tier competition.

“There is no target set for our maiden campaign in the AFC Cup. We want to just enjoy the ride,” said Johor FC coach Ramlan Rashid yesterday.

“It is a new challenge for the club, the coaches and the players. We don’t know what to expect in this competition and will utilise the opportunity to soak up experience and exposure of playing against foreign teams.”

Mohd Hamzani Omar

Ramlan admitted that he would have liked Johor FC to enter the fray on a stronger footing in the domestic scene.

However, the team have had a dismal start to the 2009 season. They are in 11th place in the 14-team Super League.

Experienced midfielder Syaiful Sabtu will miss tonight’s action through injury while defender Mohd Hamzani Omar is racing against time to recover from fever.

Meanwhile, Kedah, who are in Group G, open their campaign today against Vietnam champions Hanoi ACB in Hanoi. The other teams in the group are Chonburi FC of Thailand and Hong Kong’s Eastern Athletic.

Last year, both the Malaysian representatives, Kedah and Perak, were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

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