City Boys left fighting for survival after home draw with Felda

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur interim coach Chong Yee Fatt could not hide his disappointment as their FA Cup dreams hang in the balance.

The City Boys, despite home-ground advantage, were held 3-3 by Felda United in the quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.

The Fighters scored through Abdul Azim Rahim’s brace (23nd, 53th) and Jocinei Schad (75th) while the hosts replied through Indra Putra Mahayuddin’s double (40th, 53rd) and Paulo Josue (80th).

Felda now hold the advantage as a goalless draw at the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka on May 11 will be enough to see them through to the semis.

Yee Fatt said Felda’s game plan was spot-on while his players faltered in defence.

“The result is not ideal for us. I expected a draw but not by too many goals. This is a Cup tie and is different from the league. I salute Felda for coming up with the right plan and we got caught,” said Yee Fatt.

“Our problem is we don’t have centrebacks, but that’s no excuse. We conceded soft goals and I’m disappointed because I told them what to do prior to the game.

“I’m happy with the players’ will to win, it softens the impact of this result. We played them in Jengka last month and I hope that experience will help in the return leg.”

Meanwhile, Felda coach Nidzam Jamil said they need to have a tighter rear.

“It’s good to score three goals but we also conceded three and that is worrying ... we must start defending as a team,” said the former international.

“This is a good result but the performance is not good enough and this is something we need to fix.”