Aidil Sharin "We Will Play With the Players We Have"

Kuching City FC head coach Aidil Sharin Sahak says his injury-hit side will have to make do with the players they have as they chase their first-ever AFC Champions League Two 2026/27 win.

Injuries have made the job even harder. Ronald Ngah Wanja, Jimmy Raymond, Adjin Mugajic, Ahmad Israiwah and Gabriel Peres are among the players left out, and Peres and Ngah Wanja are expected to be out for two months. Aidil didn't hide the problem at the pre-match press conference at the stadium on Wednesday, 4 November. "Tomorrow's match is very important, and it won't be easy. Many of our key players won't play because of injuries," he said. "What we can do is play with the players we have."

Even so, Aidil is optimistic that the players he has can give the Korean side a real contest. He said the squad will stay positive and give the match their full focus. "I want to look at the positives and focus on the team's preparations," he said. He hopes some of the injured players will be back after the upcoming FIFA international break. For now, though, he stressed that a win is crucial to keep Kuching City's hopes alive.

This is Kuching City's first campaign in Asia. They qualified as runners-up in the 2025-26 Malaysia Super League, but the step up has been tough. They opened with a 2-1 defeat to Cambodia's Phnom Penh Crown and then drew 1-1 with Hong Kong's Kitchee SC. On 29 October, they lost 1-0 to Gangwon in Gangneung.

Very little separated the sides in that match. Korean outlet MK reported that Gangwon picked their strongest line-up, but a deflection decided it. In the 28th minute, 30-year-old winger Choi Byung-chan took a pass from Kang Joon-hyuk and fired a powerful shot that hit Yuki Tanigawa and curled past goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli. Kuching City hit back straight away, and Ramadhan Saifullah shot just wide a minute later. In the 38th minute, James Okwuosa headed a corner towards goal, but Gangwon goalkeeper Park Chung-hyo saved it. Gangwon had chances of their own as well. In the 13th minute, Haziq got a hand to a shot from Kim Dae-won, and a defender cleared it just before it crossed the line. Korean media praised Park and national team defender Shin Min-ha for keeping the Malaysian side out.

Gangwon are a strong opponent. They finished fifth in the 2025 K League 1 season and only ended up in the ACL2 after losing to Japan's Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Elite qualifiers. However, Chung Kyung-ho's side have also struggled in Group H. They drew 0-0 away to Kitchee and lost 2-1 at home to Phnom Penh Crown, so the win over Kuching City was their first. Aidil described them as a very disciplined and organised team with experienced players who can hurt his side. He said Kuching City aren't afraid of Gangwon's reputation, and he wants his players to play with confidence and discipline and use their home advantage.

Kuching City player Filemon Anyi joined Aidil at the press conference and also described Gangwon as well organised and disciplined. He said the fit players are ready to take on more responsibility and make up for their injured teammates. He also urged fans to turn up in numbers and get behind the team for the full 90 minutes. Aidil believes that support can lift his players.

The table shows what's at stake. Phnom Penh Crown have won all three of their matches and lead the group with nine points. Late goals from Sa Ty and Daniel Bares gave them a 2-0 win over Kitchee on 29 October. Gangwon are second with four points, Kitchee third with two and Kuching City fourth with one. Phnom Penh Crown are already eight points clear of Kuching City, so second place is the more realistic target. A win would lift Kuching City level with Gangwon on four points with two matches left. A defeat would leave them six points behind with only six points left to play for, and they'd have lost both games against Gangwon.

Kuching City have reasons to believe. They'll have their home crowd behind them, and only a deflected goal separated the teams in Gangneung, even though Gangwon fielded their strongest side. Gangwon haven't scored many goals either. They have just two in three ACL2 matches, the same as Kuching City, and they've already lost at home to Phnom Penh Crown. If Kuching City can keep the game tight and take one of their chances, as Okwuosa nearly did last week, they could pull off an upset.

However, it's still a huge challenge. Aidil is missing at least five key players, two of them for around two months, and that will test the depth of a squad still learning at this level. Kuching City have conceded in all three ACL2 matches, letting in four goals. Gangwon have kept clean sheets in two of their three games and conceded only twice. Kuching City are also still waiting for their first win, while Gangwon arrive after their first victory. Aidil admitted that his team are "still new to the competition". Against a team he calls disciplined and organised, one mistake could be costly.

Aidil wants his players to stay positive, play with discipline and make the most of the home crowd. With so many key players missing, Kuching City are the underdogs, but they ran Gangwon close a week ago. A first Asian win on Thursday would put them back in the race for second place, while a defeat would all but end their hopes of finishing second.

They host South Korea's Gangwon FC in Group H at the Taha Ariffin Stadium in Petra Jaya on Thursday, 5 November 2026, with kick-off at 8.15pm. The Cats are bottom of the group with one point from three matches. They need a win to climb the table and keep their hopes of progressing alive.

Credit Photo : KCFC