JDT coach Mora sees Arif Aiman as a 'Wonder Boy'

SHAH ALAM: Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) Football Club head coach Benjamin Mora has hailed his forward Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi as a 'Wonder Boy'.

Mora said being a fast placed and intelligent player, Arif Aiman is slated to revolutionise the Southern Tigers' team and the Malaysian Super League for years to come.

Arif Aiman, just 18, came in as a substitute in the eighth minute in yesterday's game against UiTM FC, and made an immediate impression by scoring the opening goal, after a minute being on the pitch.

"He has the skills, talent, the young age, and future and the most important is the knowledge of what he needs to do on the pitch.

'He is a revolution. He comes in and revolutionises everything because he is very fast and intelligent, so he knows what to do," Mora told the post-match press conference last night.

Hosts UiTM FC lost 0-4 to JDT at the Shah Alam Stadium.

Mora said there has been a lot of dialogue with Arif Aiman and that the coaching staff have been trying to build up Arif Aiman's confidence, moving forward.

"I told him he needs to play better (than usual) as a replacement for JDT's forward, Muhammad Safawi Rasid. I told him you (Arif Aiman) know what to do, and he knew. This a very good thing for us as we can rely on an 18-year-old boy, to help us open the door to score goals," he said.

As for Muhammad Safawi picking up a knee injury last night, Mora said the doctors would evaluate him with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)and maybe have the results tomorrow (today).

"I'm sure he will recover fast because he is a young and strong player and he is eager to train everyday, hopefully we're going to have him back as soon as possible," he added.

On the next match against Selangor on Wednesday, Mora said the team would start to strategise today, and concentrate on player's recovery the best possible way.

"We are going to see who is 100 per cent fit to face a good team like Selangor. We are going to play home, the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium is special for us, as we feel confident and comfortable playing there. I think it's going to be a nice game and our goal is the same as before, to win three points and score as many goals as we can," he said.

-- BERNAMA