Defending champs Deer all set for Malaysia Cup

PETALING JAYA: Negri Sembilan coach Mohd Azraai Khor Abdullah has completed beefing up his team for the Malaysia Cup, scheduled to kick off on Aug 22.

Azraai has signed three players on loan – Premier League’s top scorer Khairul Izuan Abdullah from Police, winger K. Thanaraj from Sabah and defender Azmeer Yusof from Pos Malaysia – to bolster the squad for the defence of their Malaysia Cup title.

The defending champions have been drawn in an relatively easy group with Perak, Felda United and FA Cup runners-up Sime Darby FC in Group C.

Azraai, ana stute tactician, believes that Negri are ready to win the Malaysia Cup for the fourth time.

“Our preparation is going according to plan based on the team’s performance in the five friendlies which we won,” said Azraai.

“But it’s not the results of our friendlies that make me feel confident, rather it’s the combination and performances of the players. The on-loan players have gelled well with the others and everything is falling into place perfectly.

“I’m impressed with Khairul and Thanaraj’s performances on the flanks as their crosses into the box have turned (Jean-emmanuel) Owona into a more lethal striker.”

The Malaysia Cup will be the Deer’s last chance for silverware this season.

Negri started their 2012 Mleague campaign on a bright note when they edged Kelantan 2-1 to bag the Charity Shield on Jan 7.

However, it has been downhill since. They failed to get past the opening round of the FA Cup competition (losing 2-1 to Johor FC) and finished sixth in the 14-team Super League.

The Deer will play two more friendlies – against Johor and Johor FC – at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi on Aug 11 and 14 respectively.

“Our players who are with the nationalteam– S. Kunalan, Shahurain Abu samah and ahmad shakir mohd Ali – will return home from their training stint in Austria on Aug 16. I have excluded them from my plans for the Malaysia Cup,” said Azraai.

“The trio may come back with injuries and will obviously be fatigued, so I can’t expect them to perform immediately. However, the rest of the team have shown tremendous character and I reckon they can fill in for the trio.

“People may think we have an easy group but anything can happen in football. We need to get to the quarter-final stage before setting any targets.”