Treat them Deer-ly
Selangor can’t afford to underestimate basement side Negri
PETALING JAYA: It should be a walk in the park for Selangor against relegation battlers Negri Sembilan in their Super League clash at the Cheras Football Stadium tonight.
But the Red Giants coach Nazliazmi Nasir is not taking his chances and has advised his players against underestimating the Deer.
Selangor have been going through a stormy period and are hoping to get their lucky break against bottom side Negri.
The Klang Valley giants were forced to dig deep before edging derby rivals Kuala Lumpur 8-7 in the sudden death shootout to advance to the FA Cup semi-finals, after they surrendered a 3-0 lead from the first leg and were held 3-3 on aggregate in the second leg last week.
Nazliazmi said he worked hard to lift his side’s morale but injuries to wingers Syahmi Safari (knee) and Azamuddin Akil (ankle) were massive setbacks to the team.
They will also be without Indonesian midfielders Evan Dimas and Ilham Armaiyn, who have returned to Indonesia to play in the All-Indonesian Football Association (PSSI) Anniversary Cup from April 27-May 3.
“Negri might be struggling at the bottom but they have a good coach in Azraai Khor who’s very experienced. I believe he’ll have plans for us. We’re struggling with form due to injuries to key players,” said Nazliazmi.
“Our imports from Indonesia are not available for this match and two local key players are injured.
“I’ll have only two foreigners – striker Rufino Segovia and defender Willian Pacheco – for this match. Our third available import player Alfonso de la Cruz has been performing below par and is not good enough for this match.
“We have many things going against us but I’m confident that we can get a result from this match based on our players’ motivation and attitude in training.
“I hope the players can to step up and don’t waste the chance to get a home win.”