Fa Cup: Sabah Fc May Face Kl Rovers Without Two Key Players - Kim Swee

KOTA KINABALU, June 14 (Bernama) -- Sabah FC may face Kuala Lumpur Rovers FC (KL Rovers) without two star players, Gabriel Perez and Darren Lok due to fitness problems in the FA Cup competition at Likas Stadium here tomorrow night.

Sabah head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said his side will today assess the fitness of Perez, a central defender from Brazil, and Lok, who is a Harimau Malaya striker, before making any decisions.

He said if the two are unable to play, this will give other players the opportunity to show their ability and performance while ensuring Sabah advances to the next round.

"The players have to prove that they are worthy to fill the vacancy, if they fail to show a good performance, there is a high possibility that they will fall behind the other players.

"I will also examine some other positions to be filled immediately if the injuries of some key players persist," he said in a statement here today.

Reminding all the players not to take the challenge of KL Rovers FC lightly, Kim Swee wants all the players to be ready to be fielded at any time while ensuring that their current performance can be improved.

He said this was Sabah FC's first match after returning from Jakarta, Indonesia in the RCTI Premium Sports competition which saw the team finish third and he wanted the players to maintain the momentum of the game in tomorrow's match.

"Sabah FC will continue the trend of giving opportunities to the players who played in Jakarta to be fielded but it depends on the match situation. I hope we can get a positive result tomorrow night," he said.

-- BERNAMA