KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor FC coach Nidzam Jamil could not hide his disappointment after his Red Giants failed to kill off PDRM FC and had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their Super League match at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium here yesterday.
He blamed it on their failure to convert the many chances they created before being punished with a late goal by the men in blue.
“We should have killed off the game much earlier. We had clear chances but did not convert them and we were (also) aware that it’s never easy facing the Cops away… but we don’t want to go into that as we know that we need to improve and learn to kill off matches.
“If you don’t take your chances, then, minute by minute, the tempo changes… then again, one point is better than nothing. But we are also not so happy to have conceded in the last seconds of the game,” he told a post-match media conference here.
In last night’s match, PDRM substitute Aremu Timothy Oluwaseun’s equaliser late into added time in the second half denied Selangor all three points after Alvin Fortes had given the Red Giants an early 16th-minute lead.
Nidzam, however, hoped that his men would learn from this, and reminded them to always prioritise results over style.
“I hope they learn things like killing off the game, getting the goals, how to protect the lead and so on, otherwise (like tonight) we concede in the last two minutes. So, it’s not just about playing well, getting a good pattern and having good gameplay – no, it’s always about the result first.
“So, tonight (yesterday), we didn’t get the desired result and suddenly another issue might crop up… so, we should (always) kill off the game… that’s the part we must improve on,” he said.
Selangor now occupy second spot in the Super League with 26 points from 12 matches – five behind leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), who have played 11 games.
Selangor will next take on South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC in their third match in Group H of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2 (ACL2) at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Stadium on Wednesday (Oct 23).
Then, four days later, Nidzam’s men will welcome JDT in a top-of-the-table Super League clash at the MBPJ Stadium on Sunday (Oct 27).
