Kuching: Brunei Darussalam coach Kwon Oh-son is concerned fatigue could take its toll on his squad despite having almost one week to prepare for their final Group A match in the 2016 AFC Solidarity Cup against Nepal on Tuesday.
Brunei kicked off their campaign with a 4-0 win over Timor-Leste last Wednesday and have since had six days to recuperate and prepare for the meeting with the Nepalese, who were held to a 0-0 draw by Timor-Leste on Saturday evening.
But the coach from Korea Republic, whose team have already secured their place in the next phase of the competition, is worried a long season and the heavy conditions experienced in their rain-affected opener could have a hangover for his players going into their second game of the tournament.
“We had a lot of players playing in the S League and they were also involved in the qualifiers for the AFF (ASEAN Football Federation) Suzuki Cup, so the players haven’t had a lot of time to recover,” said Kwon. “When they had minor injuries, they didn’t have time to recover and they played on, so these extra few days have been essential for them, it’s been a huge benefit.
“If we have enough time to recover and we have the best squad available to compete with Nepal then we can do well. But injuries are part of football and even though we have a few problems, harmony and discipline are important to have within the team and we will try to move forward.
“We have prepared well. Nepal have a good squad and we will try our best. Even though we beat Timor-Leste 4-0 the ground condition was very heavy and we’ve got a few players with minor injuries and they haven’t fully recovered yet. Since the game we’ve been doing our best to ensure the players have recovered as well as possible.
“Injuries are a concern for us and whether we put out our best 11 and take a risk or whether we take a safer approach because we have already qualified for the semi-finals, that is something we are thinking about. We have to watch our final training session before we make any decisions.”
Brunei’s win over Timor-Leste sealed their place in the semi-finals and a point for Nepal on Tuesday would see the South Asian side also progress to the next phase of the competition, where they would play Macau, who have already been crowned winners of Group B.
Nepal coach Koji Gyotoku will be trying to find a solution to his team’s struggles in front of goal after witnessing his players fail to convert in their goalless draw with Timor-Leste in their opening game of the competition.
“It’s not only the strikers, but the midfielders also,” said the Japanese coach of his side’s toothless attack. “We will need to come up with a new plan for the next game.
“It will be hard, certainly not easy, but we need a point and we will try to do whatever we can to get it. Brunei have some advantages because of the weather and also they’re used to playing on the same kind of grass.
“It’s going to be difficult and we only have two days, but I don’t think it’s negative. We will go for the win.”
