JOHOR BAHRU: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) forward Safawi Rasid will be fully committed to the Southern Tigers cause when he takes to the field to face Terengganu, his home state team in their Malaysia Cup semi-final first leg clash at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu this Saturday.
The Dungun born player said that even though he will be lining up against the team from the state where he was born, he is clear on where his loyalties lie, which is with his employers JDT and he will be professional about it.
“Yes, I will be playing against the team from my home state but I am a professional and my loyalties and commitment are towards JDT, so therefore I will play to ensure that JDT emerge victorious. So there should be no doubts as to where I stand.
“We made it through a tough quarter-finals where we managed to overcome mighty Pahang, and that was no easy task. Even though I scored twice to ensure that JDT advanced through to the semi-finals with a 3-1 aggregate win, I was still not really happy with my own performance.
“We have two really tough matches to get through in order to make it to the final for the second year in a row, and trust me we are all very determined to make the final as we do not want all our hard work, sweat, and sacrifices to go to waste just like that. Even though we were not really consistent in the group stage, we still managed to pull through and go the distance.
Throughout the Malaysia League (M-League) campaign this season, The skillful left footer has notched an impressive 16 goals for the Southern Tigers and he has proved that local players can be on par with foreign imports, and Safawi’s impressive goals haul has earned praises from manager Luciano Figueroa.
Safawi is a player who prides himself on making speedy runs into the opponent’s penalty area to score or lay on scoring opportunities for his fellow teammates, and he admits that he expects a tough reception from Terengganu’s defensive line, but his aim to score goals to enable JDT to have a comfortable lead to take back for the second leg at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru.
According to him, Terengganu’s strength lie in their 30-year-old Ivorian captain, Kipre Tchetche who is clever at sniffing out opportunities in the penalty box, while 30-year-old English midfielder Lee Andrew Tuck is the east coast’s side driving force.