Bhayangkara FC Ready for Saturday's Contest With Semen Padang
Bekasi. Police-affiliated football club Bhayangkara will look to get a full point ahead in its next Liga 1 home game on Saturday (20/05), when they face off against the visiting Semen Padang squad.
The match at Patriot Candrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, West Java, is expected as one of the league's most exciting contests on offer this week as both sides are on equal footing in Indonesia's top-tier Liga 1.
Bhayangkara is currently ranked 11th in the Liga 1 table, one spot higher than West Sumatra's Semen Padang.
"We often concede goals [early] in matches, something we'll have to fix. We rarely come back after letting our opponent's score first," Bhayangkara head coach Simon McMenemy said at a press conference on Friday (19/05).
Bhayangkara has scored nine goals in the club's previous six matches and McMenemy, the former coach of the Philippines national team, has urged his players to be more productive on the pitch.
"We can play well again, we can win at home, we want every opportunity that players get to produce goals, especially quick goals at home," McMenemy said, coming on the heels of a 2-3 defeat at Persipura Jayapura in Papua last week.
The Scottish national acknowledged the strength of Nil Maizar's Padang side, adding that "they play offensive football, so we have to be ready for it."
However, Maizar, the former head coach of the Indonesian national team, is confident his squad will outmatch the home side Bhayangkara.
"We are determined to win this game. Coming far away from Padang, we want to make sure that we come home with three points," he said.
Semen Padang tied with the league's number three Persib Bandung at home last Saturday, in a 0-0 result.
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