Home United coach Aidil: Turn adversity into advantage
Be inspired, not intimidated, by partisan Jakarta crowd, Home coach tells players
l Home lead 3-2 after first leg
| PERSIJA JAKARTA | HOME UNITED |
Home United will find themselves against Persija Jakarta's raucous home fans at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium tonight, but Home coach Aidil Sharin believes his charges will not be cowed into submission in the second leg of their AFC Cup zonal semi-final.
Instead, he hopes that his team will be spurred on by the atmosphere and build on their 3-2 first-leg win to secure their place in the zonal final.
Aidil told The New Paper in a phone interview yesterday: "We have to take it positively whether we're playing in front of a crowd of 70,000 or 100,000.
"With that, I hope that they'll be inspired and looking forward because as a footballer, without fans, it won't be good to play.
"We respect the fans but, once the whistle blows, we just have to focus on the game and not on the fans because what we want is the result."
In their 4-0 victory over Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim in the group stages, Persija's Gelora Bung Karno Stadium was rocked by the AFC Cup record-setting attendance of 60,157, dwarfing the figure of 1,528 during last week's first leg between Home and Persija at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
But even in small numbers, Persija's boisterous fans made sure they could be heard, waving their flags and chanting throughout the 90 minutes to back their team.
Home will travel to Jakarta with a slight edge over Persija after they unexpectedly pipped the Indonesian side 3-2 last week.
PERSIJA THE FAVOURITES
But Aidil maintained his stance that Persija are still the favourites for the tie.
He said: "They're the favourites because they have four foreigners and it makes a lot of difference. I want to respect the opponents and I hope this will be a motivation for the boys to challenge and believe in themselves."
Persija's two away goals also place the Protectors in a precarious position, leaving them with little room for error.
Aidil acknowledged that their game in Jakarta will be tougher, insisting that his side have to push themselves even harder than they did in the first leg if they are to have a chance to qualify for the two-legged final for the second year in a row.
Last year, they had lost to Philippine side Ceres Negros in the final, after beating Global Cebu, another Philippine side, 5-4 on aggregate in the semis.
He said: "The boys have been preparing well, team spirit is good at the moment. I hope that with all this, we'll bring it to the game against Persija.
"It helps us because it's not easy, but let's not get carried away and forget that we have to work doubly hard in the away game to achieve what we want because it's not easy."
The Protectors were given a boost when their Singapore Premier League (SPL) match against Tampines Rovers, which was supposed to be played last Saturday, was postponed to allow them more time to prepare for tonight's game.
Home's first leg against Persija was their third match in a week, following two SPL matches. Their hectic schedule was a concern for Aidil, who had to rotate his team to ensure that his players were not overworked.
The postponement of the Tampines match brought relief to Aidil, who expressed his gratitude, saying: "So far everyone is fit and we have to thank Tampines and the Singapore Premier League because they really helped us."
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