Let’s go, boys!: Terengganu’s Safawi Rasid (front) has rallied his troops to go all out when taking on Thanh Hoa in the AFF Club Championships.
PETALING JAYA: Terengganu know they have to beat Vietnamese club Thanh Hoa today to get their AFF Club Championships back on track.
The Turtles did not have the best of starts in the tournament, which is popularly known as the Shopee Cup, where they lost to Cambodian club Svay Rieng 2-3 in the opening Group A fixture at the Sultan Mizan Stadium on Aug 21.
The East Coast club will take on Thanh Hoa at the Sultan Mizan Stadium today with the hope they can get a win and satisfy the fans who are placing high hopes of seeing them playing in the knockout stages of the tournament.
Captain Safawi Rasid has rallied his troops to go all out when taking on the Lam Son Warriors, who are led by former Kelantan coach Velizar Popov.
“Anyone who gets a chance to play, just give their all, their 100% because we want to get the first three points of the tournament,” said the playmaker.
“We don’t care who scores or assists, we just want to win.
“In the first game, we were disappointed because we played at home but didn’t come out victorious.
“Today, we have to push for that three-point agenda to give us more confidence to play in the next match.”
His coach Tomislav Steinbruckner said the first defeat taught them a lot about the game as many felt it would have been easy to beat Svay Rieng, but the Cambodian club proved to be a real menace with their pace and foreign stars.
“We can never say we are sure of a win. We know how this tournament is. We cannot underestimate the challenge that is in front of us. We know how to create (chances) but luck is also a factor. We have to capitalise on half situations too. I expect good character from the first moment.
“The preparation is a bit more serious because we have an important match. If we want to be in the next stage, we must get three points.
“Thanh Hoa are fast and agile. They have few foreigners with great quality.
“But we have to believe in ourselves and play better than the first match.”
Steinbruckner revealed that his team will not have key centreback Shahrul Nizam Ros Hani, who is down with an injury and will also not have El Salvador striker, Nelson Bonilla, as he is only eligible to play if the team get to the knockout stages.
Meanwhile, Thanh Hoa’s Popov is glad to be back in Malaysia but revealed his team faced some difficulties before the game against Terengganu.
“Great to be back in Malaysia after eight years. Preparation was a bit difficult because we travelled for two days and had a tough game in the Vietnam League before flying.
“So recovery wasn’t easy. We might have to rotate the squad.
“We do not have our main striker (Rimario Gordon), which is a big problem.
“We will try to show the best of Vietnam football.
“Terengganu are one of the top three clubs in Malaysia. They have changed since I last coached here.
“They have a training centre, a nice stadium and they have good players like Safawi Rasid.”
