KUALA LUMPUR – Negeri Sembilan FC head coach Azzmi Ab Aziz criticised his players for disobeying his game plan, which resulted in a 4-0 defeat to Selangor FC in their second Super League tie yesterday.
The gaffer approached the match against the Red Giants with a 4-4-2 system, but his team only managed three shots on target and had 37% possession in front of 10,365 fans at the MBPJ Stadium.
The Jangs’ on-target attempts came from Takumi Sasaki, Jacque Faye, and Barathkumar Ramaloo in the first half.
However, Azzmi said his squad’s performance was disappointing, particularly due to individual errors in the second half.
“Our second-half performance was disappointing, and the players didn’t follow the plan given to them,” said Azzmi during the post-match press conference.
“Honestly, our performance in the first half was much better as we had several chances to counter-attack, but we didn’t find our shots on target.”
Azzmi also said his players were “too soft” to overcome Selangor’s attacking prowess compared to their opening Super League match against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on May 18.
Despite losing 3-1 to the Southern Tigers, Negeri Sembilan launched 10 attacks at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Johor.
“Line-up has never been an issue as we played the same way we did against JDT with the same system.
“We tend to fumble because of individual errors and this is something that I’m not satisfied with. We have been too soft and gave our opponents too many silly chances.
“This is something we need to work on if we hope to have a decent campaign in the Super League.
“Our game against JDT was much better compared to the game we played against Selangor,” Azzmi added.
Looking ahead, Azzmi emphasised the need to address these flaws and be more vigilant when they take on Selangor again in the FA Cup first-round match on June 15.
The 49-year-old coach, who played for Selangor in the ‘90s, replaced K. Devan as Negeri Sembilan’s head coach after Devan’s contract expired in December last year.
Negeri Sembilan currently rank bottom (13th) in the Super League table, with zero points from two games. – May 27, 2024