Tuesday, 14 September 2010

Ak Karamah V Muangthong United tomorrow

More detail to come before the home leg. This report is from www.the-afc.com

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Homs: Muangthong coach Rene Desaeyere feels his side could not have got a harder route to the semi-finals of the AFC Cup but is quietly confident of causing an upset when they tackle Al Karamah at Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Stadium on Tuesday.

The Thais return to West Asia after having already claimed a scalp from the region with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Qatar's Al Rayyan in the last 16.

But it will certainly be no easy task for Muangthong against last year's AFC Cup finalists Al Karamah but they will be hopeful they can extend their good domestic form onto the continental stage.

The reigning Thailand Premier League champions moved five points clear at the top of the current standings with a 1-0 win over Police United on Saturday and Desaeyere is keen for his side to maintain their recent good form.

"We were drawn in the hardest possible situation against a team who have a lot of experience and good history in the Asian competitions," said the 62-year-old Belgian.

"They also have many fans who are one of their key weapons.

"We were underdogs before the game against Al Rayyan but now we have all the attention. Now we will play against another team from West Asia but this time we will have a lot more confidence."

Desaeyere vowed his side will be going for victory in the first-leg match in Syria but knows a certain amount of caution will be necessary as a heavy defeat would be a major blow to their hopes of getting a result in the return leg next week.

"I'm looking forward to getting the best possible result, which is to win the game," he added.

"However, we respect our opponents and we will try our best to avoid a bad result which could cost us everything."

A disadvantage for Muangthong, however, is that Desaeyere will not be able to take his place in the dugout for the game as he serves a suspension.

1 comment:

  1. you can watch live here:
    http://atdhe.net/24084/watch-al-karamah-vs-muang-thong-united-fc

    ReplyDelete