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| Artificial turf concerns Radenovic |
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| Al Nahda coach Miroslav Radenovic is worried about how his team will cope with the artifical pitch at Jalan Besar. |
SINGAPORE – Al Nahda head coach Miroslav Radenovic believes the synthetic pitch at the Jalan Besar Stadium could count against his side in their AFC Cup quarter-final first leg clash with Singapore Armed Forces.
Radenovic, who replaced Hamad Al Azzani at the helm in August, believes holding the fixture at Jalan Besar will put his team at a severe disadvantage as none of his team have played on artificial turf.
“The field is a very negative factor for us and I’m also worried about injuries,” he said, adding that he hoped it might be first time lucky for Al Nahda.
Radenovic stressed that preparations have been difficult for his side, with the match coming before the domestic season in Oman had kicked off.
He added that changes in training and meal timing because of the fasting month of Ramadan and the extreme difference in weather in Singapore compared to Oman will make it difficult for his players.
“Our plan for this match is not to lose. A draw will be a good result for us as we do not have much information about the opposition although we know they are a good side with many international players,” he said.
Al Nahda defender Arif Al Shaif and striker Salim Al Shamsi will miss the game through suspension while Yousuf Al Naimi remained in Muscat due to personal reasons. There are also fitness doubts over midfielder Zahir Al Alawi, who picked up an injury in training.
Singapore Armed forces head coach Richard Bok claims not to have much information about Al Nahda but stressed that any team who defeated defending champions Shabab Al Ordun are a force to be reckoned with.
Al Nahda drew 1-1 at home with Shabab in their first Group C match at home but won 1-0 away in the return leg.
SAF beat Shabab Al Ordun 3-0 in Singapore but lost 5-0 in Amman in the quarter-finals of AFC Cup 2007.
“We’re really looking forward to this match as I have a full squad to choose from and training has been quite good,” Bok said, adding that he is hoping for the club’s domestic form to carry onto the AFC Cup.
SAF is currently top of the S-League table and have booked a place in the Singapore Cup Final after a 4-0 aggregate win over Tampines Rovers in the semi-finals.
Bok said the target for SAF on Tuesday night is to get a positive result to stand them in good stead for the return leg.
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