Miri face Bintulu on unfamiliar playing surface today

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Coach Mohamad Hakimi (standing behind, sixth left) with his team.

MIRI: Bintulu will host Miri in the Liga Bolasepak Rakyat at the Dewan Suarah Bintulu synthetic field today.

It is a crunch match for Miri which must win to maintain their top position in the group and progress to the next round.

Bintulu will not only have the home advantage but also the familiarity of playing on the synthetic surface which their visitors have are not used to.

Miri head coach Mohamad Hakimi Man is well aware of the challenge playing on the unfamiliar surface in Bintulu and has been preparing his team cope with faster movements of the ball on synthetic fields.

“We have been training at Miri indoor stadium futsal court and that is the only way that we can familiarise ourselves with the ball’s speed at the synthetic field.

“We will not sit back but bring the game to Bintulu and opt for the attacking game without letting our guard down in the defence,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday.

Mohamad has a full squad to choose from and the players will face keen competition among themselves  to get into the starting lineup. “We expect this positive energy will make the team more powerful and motivated.

“However we will remain focused and not underestimate the Bintulu team especially as they will be playing on their own synthetic surface field,” he said.