Azraai pleased with Negri’s effort
Negri Sembilan coach Azraai Khor Abdullah saluted the lung-busting effort of his players despite a cruel last-minute 1-0 defeat against Kedah to exit the FA Cup on Friday.
Baddrol Bahtiar’s winner in the final minute of extra-time undid all the hard work that Negri put in to keep FA Cup holders Kedah at bay in the second round match at the Darulaman Stadium.
But Azraai, who returned for a second stint at Negri only on Wednesday, said he could not have asked for more from his players.
“I salute the determined effort of my players in holding out right to the last minute since we came here to defend,” said Azraai, back in coaching after a two-year sabbatical.
“We came all the way from Seremban not to play just any side because Kedah are the defending champions and one of the best teams in the country.
“We did not want to play the same way as we did in losing to Terengganu (on Feb 23). Tonight, we played different way in trying to defend and hit them on the counter-attack.
“I instructed the players to be disciplined in their defending and with our two-layered defence we managed to prevent Kedah from scoring until the 120th minute. We had hoped to get to the penalty shootout and try our luck there.”
Azraai now turns his attention to Negri’s next Super League match against Pahang in Kuantan on March 10.
“We hope to have (striker) Nicolas Velez back from injury although I am still evaluating the performance of the foreign players,” he said. “I will give them all a chance to prove themselves until June (when the transfer window reopens).”
Meanwhile, Super League clubs Terengganu and Perak SEDC both reached the third round of the FA Cup with wins over thirdtier opposition in Saturday’s early matches.
Lee Tuck (37th), Igor Zonjic (59th), Shahrul Aizad Zulkifli (75th) and Kipre Tcetche (85th penalty) were on the scoresheet at Terengganu swatted aside hosts Petaling Jaya Rangers 4-0.
South Korean forward Yeon Gisung scored either side of halftime to give Perak SEDC a 2-1 win over Shahzan Muda in Temerloh with Faizal Rani scoring a late consolation for the FAM Cup team.