KUALA LUMPUR – Penang City FC head coach Akmal Rizal gives full credit to his young players for leading the club to a strong start in this season’s Super League campaign.
However, the 42-year-old, who was given the head coach role in January this year after serving as the club’s assistant and under-21 coach, anticipates danger in their upcoming matches if his charges do not improve their current goal-scoring statistics.
For the record, Akmal has brought a total of eight players from the under-23 squad into his starting eleven in his opening three games in charge of this season’s Super League.
The Black Panthers, who are currently ranked seventh in the Super League table with three points, started their campaign with three draws from three games where they only managed to score one goal.
Their draws came against Sabah FC (0-0), Terengganu FC (0-0), and Polis Diraja Malaysia FC (1-1).
Speaking to Scoop, Akmal expressed satisfaction with the team’s progress and emphasised the need to resolve their attacking issues with specialised training in the coming days.
“We are really happy that we have started well this season, especially against teams that finished higher than us last season. The tactics have worked, and I’m happy that they are all gelling with the team really well.
“The youngsters have shown up when it matters most, and I’m happy with how well they have managed to adapt to my system in just a few months.
“I need to give them full credit for not complaining whenever I experiment with them in new positions. It’s just that we are not getting the goals despite all the efforts we put in. This is not a danger for now, but I’m worried that it will cause us trouble when we play bigger teams.
“The team is new, and they have so much more to learn. Hence, the goals will come, and I will ensure that it happens through the specialised attacking training in the next few training sessions,” said Akmal when contacted.
During his playing career from 1998 to 2016, Akmal was well known for his lethal finishes and sprints, which saw him score more than 100 goals in his club career.
Akmal was also one of the first Malaysian players to have a career abroad, where he had a two-year (1999-2001) stint with French clubs RC Strasbourg and FCSR Haguenau.
Penang FC holds the record for winning the league three times (1982, 1998, and 2001), the FA Cup once (2002), and the Malaysia Cup four times (1953, 1954, 1958, and 1974). – June 3, 2024