Kedah head coach Tan Cheng Hoe has promised fans that his side will be going on the offense when they take on Sabah in the second leg of the FA Cup quarter-final tie tonight.
The Red Eagles have a 2-1 lead from the first leg, which gives them a significant advantage when you take away goals into consideration. But considering that tonight’s affair is a home match, Cheng Hoe sees no reason to not go gung ho and attack.
“We will not sit back and try to defend our 2-1 lead. In fact, we’ll be looking to go out there and attack Sabah,” he told Sinar Harian.
His plans for tonight were dealt with a blow after Baddrol Bakthiar was ruled out of this fixture with an injury. But according to Cheng Hoe, Fakri Saarani is an adequate replacement and home advantage should help Kedah fire on all cylinders tonight.
“My players are really motivated for tonight. We’ll be playing at home and there’ll be thousands of Kedah fans cheering us on, so we should qualify for the semis,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK
Let’s not kid ourselves, the Darul Aman Stadium is an intimidating ground. Kedah at home, are a complete different side and the odds are definitely stacked against Sabah here. Will it be as comfortable as Cheng Hoe thinks it will be? Probably. But in any cup fixture, all it takes for a team to crumble is one goal. Sabah have got nothing to lose and they will go into this one knowing they are the underdogs – something that could work in their favour. That being said, Kedah will most likely be in the semis. Sabah need two goals at the bare minimum tonight, and it’s hard to see Chong Hoe’s men not score in this fixture. It has a home win written all over it.
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