KUCHING: Hope FC will continue to seek stronger opposition as part of their development, with manager Bryan Cheong emphasising fitness, transitions and game awareness.
This follows a narrow 3-2 defeat to Kuching City FC U18 and a series of intensive friendly matches played over the past week including Sarawak Premier League’s PDRM FC and Kuching City FC’s U20 squad.
Cheong said such high-level fixtures are exactly the kind of tests the team is aiming for as they look to raise their overall standards.
“Yes, definitely. We are always grateful for opportunities to play games like this, and these are the levels we want to be competing at,” he told Sarawak Tribune when contacted recently.
Looking ahead, he confirmed that the club is keen to take part in more competitive tournaments as part of their long-term growth.
“We have put our name into a couple of tournaments and we’ll see what we can do. We are always looking to compete at a high level and the boys are always raring to go,” he added.
Despite the encouraging performances, Cheong acknowledged that there are key areas the team must improve, particularly in fitness and tactical awareness.
“I think for us, it will be working more on fitness and shifting as a team in transition. We need to be more aware and recognise certain situations offensively and defensively, and be more clinical with the chances created,” he said.
He added that continued training and conditioning will be crucial as the team builds consistency and sharpness moving forward.
“These things come with more training and fitness work,” he said.
