After more than a week of charging their batteries following a whirlwind tour of four stops in 15 days over 17,000km’s from Kota Kinabalu to Kolkata, India to Kuantan and finally Melaka, the City Boys are set to pack their bags once more and this time head for the Pearl of The Orient, Penang Island, where they visit the bottom of the table homesters at the City Stadium on Saturday in Georgetown.
Headcoach Bojan has many fond memories of his time as Chief Executive Officer with the Panthers together with Nenad as head coach in 2016. Appointed halfway through the Super League season with Penang anchored at the bottom of the standings, the Croatian tag team helped the islanders stave off relegation before leaving at the end of that year.
The 51-year old tactician spared a few moments with The Voice of The City Boys ahead of the Match Day 19 fixture brought forward to accommodate the Red And White’s continued progress in the AFC Cup 2022 where they will meet PFC Sogdiana in the Inter Zone (East Asia Region) final on October 5, 2022 in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan,
Speaking about the upcoming game, Bojan who was a picture of dejection last week after his side dropped two points following their inability to get past Melaka United’s defence in the scoreless draw ruining their assault for fourth position in the charts, mentioned that when facing sides that are set-up like Penang , the city slickers often struggle to get by.
“Penang is at the bottom (but it’s like the) same thing (that happened) with Melaka. We have this problem playing against teams at the bottom of table because they sit back, they block you and they don’t allow you to play. For us, this is always a problem. Against top teams, they try to attack a lot and this open(s) (up) space for us, and we usually get good results against top team(s)”, he explained.
He was wishful of the City Boys’ odds this time though.
“I hope this match against Penang, we can change this, to score against teams that sit back.”
The coach who has won everything at the top level of the domestic game in Malaysia was also happy for Zhafri and Declan’s inclusion in the national team for the 48th Thai Kings Cup in Chiang Mai despite his initial objections.
“They are in the national team; I am happy for them. This is something I cannot influence; this is in the FIFA calendar, so players playing for the national team is always good for them and they can be proud of this.”, said Bojan.
Continuing he commended the duo.
“This means that they have played well this season. It is a result of their good work. I think this is positive that they are in the national team. Of course, we will miss them (vs Penang). The other guys will try to jump in and play their matches.”
Bojan also expressed his happiness with the recent time off the entire squad had coinciding with the FIFA International Days window.
After some injuries and many matches played the past few weeks, this break is actually fantastic for us to fully recover and scout the games (involving Penang, Sarawak United). The boys took this opportunity to be completely out of football, be with their families and travel, and this will recharge their batteries. Now, they have just returned to training and they will be fully focused on the rest of the league, the semi-finals of the AFC Cup (Inter-Zone final) and the Malaysia Cup.”
The Super League Match Day 19 fixture between Penang and Kuala Lumpur City is on Saturday, September 25 2022, at 9.00PM (2100hrs) at the City Stadium, Georgetown.
Tickets for the Super League match against Penang are available at the following link, https://www.tickethotline.com.my/
For Season Ticket Holders (B2 City Boys), enjoy direct access for purchase through the Club without the hassle and limitations of the online system (Contact Shamim for details)