Nidzam Concedes Selangor Falter After Alexander Agyarkwa Leaves Pitch

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Selangor FC coach Nidzam Jamil admitted that the tempo of his men's game was disrupted after midfielder Alexander Agyarkwa was removed in the FA Cup final against Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium yesterday.

He said Agyarkwa is a 'weapon' for the Red Giants squad to control the pressure given by JDT but the performance of his players seems to be badly affected after the absence of the 25-year-old player.

"Yes, it has an effect (after Agyarkwa's absence), we want to make Alex a weapon to get us out of the pressure of the first pressure given by the opposing team, but he could not finish the match," he told reporters at the press conference after the match yesterday.

Selangor ended the first half of the match 1-2, Nidzam then removed Agyarkwa in the second half before JDT added to the injury by burying the Red Giants with four more goals.

In the meantime, the 44-year-old coach said he wanted to take responsibility for the disappointing defeat his team suffered.

Nidzam said he will ensure that Selangor will continue to qualify for the finals of any future tournament in an effort to ensure that his team is in the best position in the Malaysian League scene.

"Against a mature team (JDT) that has played in the finals every year for 10 years, we can't make any small mistakes, and we can't go to the finals with the mind of just wanting to try.

"Because the moment we made a little mistake they will pounced on us but we could have done better in the final," he said.

Yesterday, the Red Giants were defeated by the Southern Tigers 1-6 through a hat-trick by Juan Muniz, and a goal each from Arif Aiman ​​Mohd Hanapi , Bergson Da Silva and Heberty Fernandes, while Selangor's lone goal was scored by Alvin Fortes.

This is JDT's second success this season after they were also crowned champions of Charity Shield in May.

The defeat saw Selangor's championship drought continued after last enjoying success by winning the Malaysia Cup in 2015.

The last time Selangor won the FA Cup was in 2009 after beating Kelantan 4-1 on penalties.

-- BERNAMA