2021 KUCHING CITY F.C. SEASON

Kuching City
2021 season
Co-owner	Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman; Kamaludin Akil
Head coach	Irfan Bakti
Stadium	Sarawak Stadium; Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Stadium (Temporary stadium)
Malaysia Premier League	5th
Malaysia Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Alif Hassan (5); All: Alif Hassan (6)
Highest home attendance	0
Lowest home attendance	0
Average home league attendance	0
	Third colours
	Third colours
	← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 season was Kuching City's sixth year in their history and second season in the Malaysia Premier League since 2020 following promotion 2019 season. Along with the league, the club will also compete in the Malaysia Cup.

Events

On 1 December 2020, the club announced Irfan Bakti as club's head coach on one-year contract.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

On 21 January 2021, the players started training with club's new head coach, Irfan Bakti.^[6]

On 24 July 2021, the league match against Terengganu II has been postponed due to COVID-19 cases among Kuching City players and officials.^[7]^[8]

On 12 January 2021, Alemão joined the club from Kelantan United. Hudson Dias, Leo and Yuta Suzuki have been retained from last season.^[9] Joseph Kalang Tie has been appointed as club's captain.

On 25 February 2021, Leo has been released from the club due to injury.^[10]

On 18 June 2021, Michael Ijezie joined the club from Langkawi City. Bryan has been released from the club upon mutual agreement.^[11]

Players

First-team squad

As of 6 August 2021^[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	MAS	Andy Nicholas Nipen
2	DF	MAS	Jimmy Raymond
3	DF	MAS	Hairol Mokhtar ( vice-captain)
4	DF	BRA	Alemão
5	DF	MAS	Sahran Abdul Samad
8	FW	MAS	Joseph Kalang Tie ( captain)
9	DF	MAS	Adam Shreen
10	FW	NGA	Michael Ijezie
11	MF	MAS	Hafis Saperi
12	DF	MAS	Rames Lai
13	DF	MAS	Dzulazlan Ibrahim
15	DF	MAS	Izray Iffarul
17	MF	MAS	Rafiezan Razali
18	MF	MAS	Rafiq Shah


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
19	DF	MAS	Irwan Syazmin
22	MF	MAS	Zainuddin Bohri
23	GK	MAS	Hafiezulhisyam Roslee
25	GK	MAS	Iqbal Suhimi
27	GK	MAS	Wan Azraie
28	MF	MAS	Samsu Alam Samad
30	MF	JPN	Yuta Suzuki
39	DF	MAS	Nazrul Abdul Samad
44	MF	MAS	Alif Hassan
51	FW	MAS	Amirrul Iqmal
52	MF	MAS	Amir Amri
53	MF	BRA	Hudson
59	FW	MAS	Wan Badzreen
89	DF	MAS	Mazwandi Zekeria ( 3rd-captain)

Technical staff

Position	Name^[13]
Head coach	Irfan Bakti
Assistant head coach	Sulaiman Hussin
Goalkeeper coach	Mohd Azley Abdullah
Fitness coach	Dharmendra Mahalingam
Team doctor	Nik Alif Azriq Nik Abdullah
	Abang Mohd Nurfarhan Abang Samatan
	Muhammad Karbela Reza Ramlan
Physiotherapist	Ferdinand Lisa Satu

Competitions

Malaysia Premier League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Terengganu II^[a]	20	9	8	3	37	18	+19	35
4	Johor Darul Ta'zim II^[a]	20	9	7	4	38	20	+18	34
5	Kuching City	20	7	6	7	22	22	0	27	Qualification for the Malaysia Cup group stage
6	Kelantan	20	8	3	9	23	28	−5	27
7	Kelantan United	20	8	2	10	25	28	−3	26

Source: MFL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II cannot be promoted from Malaysia Premier League and play in Malaysia Cup as Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. , Perak FA, Selangor F.C. and Terengganu FC (their parent clubs) remain in Malaysia Super League and play in Malaysia Cup. Should the team be relegated to Malaysia Premier League or will not play in Malaysia Cup, Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II will have to drop to Malaysia M3 League or will play in Malaysia Cup.

Matches

10 March 2021 1	Terengganu II	1–1	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

13 March 2021 2	Johor Darul Ta'zim II	3–1	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

16 March 2021 3	Sarawak United	2–0	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

20 March 2021 4	PDRM	1–2	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

3 April 2021 5	Negeri Sembilan	0–0	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

7 April 2021 6	FAM-MSN Project	2–2	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

10 April 2021 7	Kelantan	1–0	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

24 April 2021 9	Kelantan United	1–0	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

27 April 2021 10	Perak II	0–2	Kuching City
MYT ( UTC+8)

21 August 2021 11	Kuching City	3–1	Kelantan
MYT ( UTC+8)

25 August 2021 12	Kuching City	2–1	Johor Darul Ta'zim II
MYT ( UTC+8)

28 August 2021 13	Kuching City	1–1	Selangor II
MYT ( UTC+8)

1 September 2021 14	Kuching City	1–2	Negeri Sembilan
MYT ( UTC+8)

4 September 2021 15	Kuching City	0–0	PDRM
MYT ( UTC+8)

7 September 2021 16	Kuching City	1–0	Sarawak United
MYT ( UTC+8)

14 September 2021 17	Kuching City	2–0	FAM-MSN Project
MYT ( UTC+8)

17 September 2021 18	Kuching City	0–2	Terengganu II
MYT ( UTC+8)

21 September 2021 19	Kuching City	2–0	Perak II
MYT ( UTC+8)

24 September 2021 20	Kuching City	1–3	Kelantan United
MYT ( UTC+8)

Malaysia Cup

Group stage

The draw for the group stage was held on 15 September 2021.^[14]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	TER	SEL	KUC	PRK
1	Terengganu	6	5	1	0	16	4	+12	16	Quarter-finals	—	2–1	2–0	4–0
2	Selangor	6	4	0	2	12	8	+4	12	Quarter-finals	1–3	—	5–1	1–0
3	Kuching City	6	1	2	3	6	12	−6	5		1–1	1–2	—	2–2
4	Perak	6	0	1	5	4	14	−10	1		1–4	1–2	0–1	—

Source: MFL, FAM

26 September 2021 1	Terengganu	2–0	Kuching City
UTC +8

29 September 2021 2	Kuching City	2–2	Perak
UTC +8

30 October 2021 3	Selangor	5–1	Kuching City
21:00 UTC +8

3 November 2021 4	Kuching City	1–2	Selangor
21:00 UTC +8

7 November 2021 5	Perak	0–1	Kuching City
21:00 UTC +8

10 November 2021 6	Kuching City	1–1	Terengganu
21:00 UTC +8

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 10 November 2021^[13]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		League		Malaysia Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
2	DF	MAS	Jimmy Raymond	18	0	12+4	0	1+1	0
3	DF	MAS	Hairol Mokhtar	9	1	8+1	1
4	DF	BRA	Alemão	25	1	18+1	1	6	0
5	DF	MAS	Sahran Abdul Samad	2	0	0+2	0
8	MF	MAS	Joseph Kalang Tie	23	4	14+4	4	4+1	0
9	MF	MAS	Adam Shreen	24	1	17+2	1	5	0
10	FW	NGA	Michael Ijezie	14	6	9	4	5	2
11	MF	MAS	Hafis Saperi	2	0	0+2	0
12	DF	MAS	Rames Lai	24	0	19	0	5	0
13	DF	MAS	Dzulazlan Ibrahim	13	0	7+1	0	5	0
15	DF	MAS	Izray Iffarul	4	0	1+1	0	0+2	0
17	MF	MAS	Rafiezan Razali	16	0	2+9	0	3+2	0
18	MF	MAS	Rafiq Shah	15	1	7+3	0	5	1
19	DF	MAS	Irwan Syazmin	18	2	9+4	2	5	0
22	MF	MAS	Zainudin Bohri	21	0	3+14	0	1+3	0
25	GK	MAS	Iqbal Suhimi	15	0	11+2	0	2	0
26	FW	MAS	Shafiq Shaharudin	6	0	2+4	0
27	GK	MAS	Wan Azraie	13	0	9	0	4	0
30	MF	JPN	Yuta Suzuki	26	2	19+1	1	6	1
44	MF	MAS	Alif Hassan	25	6	15+4	5	4+2	1
50	MF	MAS	Diego Baggio Test	12	0	5+1	0	3+3	0
51	FW	MAS	Amirrul Iqmal	11	0	2+7	0	0+2	0
52	MF	MAS	Amir Amri	12	1	3+5	1	0+4	0
53	FW	BRA	Hudson	14	3	10+3	2	1	1
59	FW	MAS	Wan Badzreen	3	0	0+1	0	0+2	0
89	MF	MAS	Mazwandi Zekeria	13	0	10+1	0	1+1	0
Players transferred out during the season
7	FW	BRA	Bryan	8	0	7+1	0	0	0

References

^ "Aksi Ditunda Lagi, Kuching City Pilih Pasir Gudang Venue Baru". La Bola Malaya. 15 August 2021.
^ "Kuching City FC sambar khidmat Irfan Bakti". Sinar Harian. 1 December 2020.
^ "2021 Irfan Bakti ketua jurulatih Kuching City FC musim 2021". Utusan Borneo. 1 December 2020.
^ "Kuching City FC terima sentuhan Irfan Bakti musim 2021". Astro Awani. 1 December 2020.
^ "Kuching City letak KPI tinggi buat Irfan Bakti". Kosmo!. 22 January 2021.
^ "Irfan Bakti mula melatih Kuching City FC". Utusan Borneo. 22 January 2021.
^ "Aksi Kuching City, TFC II petang ini ditunda". 24 July 2021.
^ "Aksi libatkan Kedah, Kuching City tunda pemain positif Covid-19". Kosmo!. 26 July 2021.
^ "Kuching City FC Diperkuatkan Pemain Import Dari Brazil". Vocket FC. 12 January 2021.
^ "Kuching FA kehilangan Alves". Suara Sarawak. 25 February 2021.
^ "Michael Ijezie import baharu Kuching City FC". Suara Sarawak. 18 June 2021.
^ "Kuching City 2021". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Kuching City - Team detail". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
^ "Undian Piala Malaysia: Tugas mudah JDT, Kedah". Berita Harian. 15 September 2021.

[table_note_JDT0.52422120819065-14] Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II cannot be promoted from Malaysia Premier League and play in Malaysia Cup as Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. , Perak FA, Selangor F.C. and Terengganu FC (their parent clubs) remain in Malaysia Super League and play in Malaysia Cup. Should the team be relegated to Malaysia Premier League or will not play in Malaysia Cup, Johor Darul Ta'zim II, Perak II, Selangor II and Terengganu II will have to drop to Malaysia M3 League or will play in Malaysia Cup.

[1] "Aksi Ditunda Lagi, Kuching City Pilih Pasir Gudang Venue Baru". La Bola Malaya. 15 August 2021.

[2] "Kuching City FC sambar khidmat Irfan Bakti". Sinar Harian. 1 December 2020.

[3] "2021 Irfan Bakti ketua jurulatih Kuching City FC musim 2021". Utusan Borneo. 1 December 2020.

[4] "Kuching City FC terima sentuhan Irfan Bakti musim 2021". Astro Awani. 1 December 2020.

[5] "Kuching City letak KPI tinggi buat Irfan Bakti". Kosmo!. 22 January 2021.

[6] "Irfan Bakti mula melatih Kuching City FC". Utusan Borneo. 22 January 2021.

[7] "Aksi Kuching City, TFC II petang ini ditunda". 24 July 2021.

[8] "Aksi libatkan Kedah, Kuching City tunda pemain positif Covid-19". Kosmo!. 26 July 2021.

[9] "Kuching City FC Diperkuatkan Pemain Import Dari Brazil". Vocket FC. 12 January 2021.

[10] "Kuching FA kehilangan Alves". Suara Sarawak. 25 February 2021.

[11] "Michael Ijezie import baharu Kuching City FC". Suara Sarawak. 18 June 2021.

[12] "Kuching City 2021". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

[Team_detail-13] "Kuching City - Team detail". Football Association of Malaysia. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

[15] "Undian Piala Malaysia: Tugas mudah JDT, Kedah". Berita Harian. 15 September 2021.

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Events