Review Of PSM Makassar Vs Sabah FC AFC Cup Match: Ramang Troop Awakening
PSM Makassar will face Malaysian club Sabah FC on the second matchday of Group H of the 2023 AFC Cup. Both teams will compete at the Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium, Gianyar Regency, Bali, Thursday, October 5.
PSM is not doing well. Bernardo Tavares' troops lost three consecutive defeats.
In addition to losing 0-3 to Hai Phong (Vietnam) in the first match of Group H of the 2023 AFC Cup, PSM also fell while playing in Liga 1 2023/2024. They gave up 0-1 from Borneo and 1-2 from PSIS Semarang.
"This is the first time we have lost three times in a row and it's not easy, three games without a win," Tavares told a news conference ahead of the match.
However, PSM is determined to rise in this match. Even though they did not appear at the "home", Ramang troops were ready to recruit the Sabah FC fleet.
"Tomorrow we have to prepare for that, we will place better players against the opposing team," said Tavares, as reported by Antara.
"So tactically it must be good either without the ball or with the ball because we can't just depend on the players but collectively," he continued.
Bernardo admits PSM Makassar is currently in a difficult condition due to swallowing three consecutive defeats. Not to mention, his squad is not 100 percent complete, especially ensuring stamina and many of his players are injured.
He also hopes that the match against Sabah FC in Bali will be fully supported by supporters. Not only the club supporters, but Indonesian supporters because his team represented Indonesia in the Asian arena.
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Meanwhile Sabah FC anticipates the rise of PSM. Coach Ong Kim Swee said PSM would certainly appear more determined to return to winning ways.
"After losing the first match, surely (PSM) wants to come back stronger. So we can't take it lightly, let alone play in Bali, Indonesia, even though it's not PSM's headquarters," said the man who once investigated the Malaysian national team.
"After three games lost, I believe PSM Makassar wants to make sure they don't want to lose points," he continued.
For this reason, the club based in Kota Kinabalu already has a special strategy to deal with the home team, which does not want the strategy to be revealed in order to maintain the team's performance.
Currently, PSM Makassar is in fourth place with zero points in the standings of Group H of the 2023/2024 AFC Cup. While the opponent, Sabah FC is in second place in the standings with three points.