It pays to be first
Maniam: Selangor must top group to avoid tougher opponents
PETALING JAYA: Selangor coach P. Maniam wants the Red Giants to top their group to avoid tougher opponents in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.
The Klang Valley outfit, however, need to win their remaining two Group D matches – starting with Sarawak at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium tonight and then runaway Super League leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in Larkin on Sept 9.
By topping the group, Maniam’s men will avoid meeting defending champions Kedah, the Group C leaders, in the quarter-finals.
Selangor were one of the three teams to reach the last eight last week after garnering an unassailable 10 points from four matches. JDT overtook Selangor as leaders yesterday after beating Terengganu 5-0 at home.
Maniam reckons that Selangor should beat out-of-contention Sarawak as they are likely to be distracted by their relegation battle in the Super League.
“I think Sarawak will focus all their energy on avoiding relegation. We should be able to beat them since we are playing at home, but we won’t take them lightly,” said the former international yesterday.
“I want the players to win the remaining two matches to be group champions. If we top the group, we will play the Group C runners-up (either Melaka or Kelantan) in the quarter-finals.”
Maniam’s biggest worry is that a number of his players – striker Rufino Segovia and Mohd Amri Yahyah (hamstring), winger Andik Vermansyah and defender Raimi Mohd Nor (knee) – are plagued by injuries.
Two others – forward Francis Doe and centreback Adam Nor Azlin – are fatigued after playing through a gruelling round of Super League and Malaysia Cup fixtures.
Maniam said that he’s banking on his second stringers – striker Nurshamil Abdul Ghani, mid- fielder S. Veenod and defenders A. Namathevan and K. Kannan – to get the result against Sarawak.
“After playing through a congested fixture schedule, a number of our regulars are injured and fatigued.
“So, I need to get our back-up players to step up their game,” said Maniam.
“These second stringers had helped us to win matches before when called upon. I expect them to continue their good work and use the play time well to prove their worth to the team.”