STIFF JDT TEST FOR RED GIANTS
Stuttering Selangor wary of Southern Tigers after last season’s 6-1 thrashing
SELANGOR coach Karsten Neitzel hopes his side have hit their lowest point and can now start to bounce back. The Red Giants boss insists his players are motivated and eager to shine, despite earning only four points from their opening three Super League matches.
Selangor started the season with an impressive 3-1 win over Sri Pahang before going down 3-1 to Terengganu.
On Saturday, they were held 1-1 by Kuala Lumpur City FC, despite dominating the first half, at the MBPJ Stadium.
KL led in the 80th minute through Dominique da Sylva.
However, Selangor were handed a gift when KL’s Giancarlo Gallifuoco headed the ball into his own net in stoppage time.
Their challenge only gets harder with a trip to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on Wednesday, but Neitzel wants to believe they have reached their nadir and can start to climb out of the slump.
JDT, the defending champions, thrashed UiTM FC 4-0 in Shah Alam on Saturday to maintain their 100 per cent record in the league and extend their unbeaten run against Malaysian clubs to 27 matches (23 wins and four draws) since their 1-0 defeat to PJ City FC in July 2019,
The seven-time champions have maximum points after three opening matches, scoring eight goals and conceding zero.
In their last meeting, JDT thrashed Selangor 6-1 (last season), and if the Red Giants do not buck-up, they could suffer an embarrassment again on Wednesday.
A win over JDT, however, would offer the Red Giants renewed confidence for the season.
Going by JDT coach Benjamin Mora’s comments, Selangor can expect a torrid time on Wednesday.
“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, as we feel confident and comfortable whenever we play 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,” said the Mexican.
JDT scored through Arif Aiman Hanapi (11th), Gonzalo Cabrera (15th), Bergson Silverira (81st) and Syamer Kutty Abba (90th) in the 4-0 win over UiTM.
JDT’s Safawi Rasid, however, suffered an injury after nine minutes and could be out for two or three weeks.
Neitzel said his team need to be aggressive from now on.
Commenting on the draw against KL, Neitzel said it was not a result he wanted.
“We should win all of our home games. Although our performance on Saturday wasn’t bad, we just lacked the punch to score a win.
“We have to bounce back and do better in the next match. The players need to be aggressive in their opponent’s box and take their chances.
“I have two days to prepare for JDT. I will analyse JDT’s game and prepare our players for this challenge,” he said.