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Coach says depleted Harimau are back in the hunt

PETALING JAYA: Harimau Muda hope to get back on the winning track in the Premier League.
The national Under-19 squad under Ong Kim Swee suffered three consecutive defeats following the exit of five key players, who were drafted into the senior Harimau Muda (Under-21) squad last month to play in the Slovakian League.

“We are regaining our momentum,” said Kim Swee on a positive note yesterday.
He said that the boys had started on a bright note, going undefeated in six matches before they lost sting after the five regulars left the team and it resulted in crushing defeats by Pos Malaysia (1-4), Police (1-4) and Felda United (1-3).

Kim Swee said that the team would go all out to stop the slide when they host PKNS at the Hang Tuah Stadium in Malacca tonight.

“I admit that the boys were down (after the three straight defeats) but we are getting back to shape. It is not easy to plug the gaps effectively in a short period of time, especially when you lose five key players at one go, including three from the back four,” he said.


Strikers Gary Steven Robbat and A. Thamil Arasu and defenders Mohd Fandi Othman, Wan Zack Haikal and Mohd Fadhli Mohd Shah have been with the Harimau Muda seniors since Feb 27.

Since they left the team, Harimau Muda have slipped to fifth spot in the 12-team standings on 14 points from four wins, two draws and three defeats. Felda are the leaders on 25 points followed by PKNS (22), Armed Forces (18) and Sabah (16).

Against PKNS tonight, Kim Swee will be counting on Mohd Ferris Danial Mat Nasir and Haziq Zikri Elias to get the goals.

Star

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