Selangor coach defends youngsters after heart-breaking loss
PETALING JAYA: Selangor have now gone seven matches without a win but head coach Nazliazmi Nasir has leapt to his youngsters’ defence after another painful defeat in the Super League.
The Red Giants suffered another heartbreak as they fell 3-2 to Melaka at the Hang Jebat Stadium on Saturday.
Selangor led through Ilham Armaiyn (25th minute) before Yahor Zubovich levelled for Melaka in the 49th. D. Kugan restored the Giants’ lead in the 69th minute but Zubovich scored his second to make it 2-2 in the 83rd.
Nicholas Swirad then broke Selangor hearts with a stoppage-time winner.
Nazliazmi had to field six players under the age of 22 due to injuries to his regulars, which saw defender Syukri Azman and third-choice goalkeeper Haziq Ridwan making their debuts.
Although Selangor started brightly, their inexperienced backline wilted under pressure as they conceded two late goals in a match where a draw would have been enough to confirm their top-tier safety for next season.
Rookie coach Nazliazmi, howev- er, took the defeat in his stride.
“This is football. Our youngsters played well in the first half. I had to make changes due to injuries. The injury-time winner was hard to take,” said Nazliazmi.
“These young boys are Selangor’s future. Despite the defeat, I’m very proud of the way they played. This team still have a long way to go. We’ve two more games and we’ll keep trying our best.”
The defeat left Selangor just six points away from the relegation zone with 21 points from 20 matches. Melaka are seventh in the 12-team Super League with 28 points.
Relegation battlers Negri Sembilan and Kelantan both have 15 points after 20 matches.
Selangor’s next two matches are against PKNP in Ipoh on Thursday and Terengganu in Kuala Lumpur on July 29.
“We now have to collect as many points as possible to defend our position in the league against Negri Sembilan and Kelantan.
“Hopefully, my young boys can do it against PKNP and Terengganu,” added Nazliazmi, who replaced ousted coach P. Maniam three months ago.