MELAKA: Controversial foreign import Liridon Krasniqi is looking forward to helping his new team Melaka after he played a starring role in the 3-0 defeat of Sarawak in a pre-season friendly match played at the Hang Jebat Stadium last night (Monday).
The former Kedah stalwart, who only trained with his new team for three days, said that the win has boosted his confidence and he is looking forward to making a positive impact with Melaka.
What made the victory sweeter for Krasniqi in his first match together with his new teammates was the fact that despite only being with the team for a couple of days, they showed a good understanding and cohesiveness on the pitch throughout the match.
"I am confident that the team’s performance will only get better once league action begins, especially after we are able to train more together after this. For me this match is a very good and exciting start for all of us, and bear in mind that we are playing together as a team for the very first time, for me especially.
“And with this in mind, let me just say that I want to perform as best as I possibly can as I don the Melaka jersey,” he said.
Krasniqi was also excited with the other new additions to the team, namely local stars such as Shukor Adan, Safiq Rahim and goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat, as he feels that the squad now have a real chance at winning silverware during the coming new season, which is what the fans have been dreaming of all this while.
In fact, Krasniqi is also proud of the strong support given by the fans and he is confident that their presence in thronging and filling up the Hang Jebat Stadium will spur Melaka to perform better in order to achieve positive results to repay their faith in the team.
Against Sarawak, Krasniqi clearly entertained the estimated 3,000 fans who turned up to watch him play for Melaka for the very first time. The fans cheered and clapped for him each time he had the ball at his feet, and even more so when he dribbled and sent the ball into the opposition’s half.
During the pre-season friendly, Melaka scored through 31-year-old Montenegrin central midfielder Darko Markovic in the 22nd and 48th minutes, as we as former Felcra FC Brazilian center-forward Anselmo Casagrande in the 25th minute.