Salute the leaders: Johor’s Bergson Da Silva (left) celebrating a goal with teammates. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: The sight of Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will make any Negri Sembilan player or fan tremble.
After all, the Southern Tigers had mauled the Deer 7-0 in the Super League at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi but coach K. Devan remains optimistic ahead of their return fixture at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri today.
Devan will not have the services of several players due to injuries like midfielders Saiful Ridzuwan Selamat, Safuwan Baharuddin; attackers Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi, Hafiz Ramdan and Sean Selvaraj.
In fact, key playmaker Levy Madinda will also miss the game as he is on loan from JDT and is not allowed to play against his parent club.
Devan however, has complete trust in the rest of the team.
“We are playing the best team in the league, so motivation is high. Yes, we have injuries but I believe in the players who will replace them. It is a huge task but I’ve told them to go out there and give a good account of themselves,” he said.
“The 0-7 defeat, I believe, won’t be repeated. At that time, our squad were still getting used to the league and players were getting used to our tactics.
“But now, we have played 15 matches, so things will be different.”
Since their first meeting, the defending Super League champions JDT have only gone from strength to strength by maintaining a 100% record after 15 matches, scoring a whopping 60 goals and only conceding three to lead the pack with 45 points.
“In terms of quality, we can’t compete with JDT. We have to be objective. But we will have our own strategy. We do not intend to park the bus,” said Devan.
“We can’t give space to their players. The likes of Arif (Aiman Hanapi), Bergson (Da Silva), Diogo (Santo) and (Fernando) Forestieri can kill you if given space. We’ll mark them.”
Negri are ninth in the league with 19 points.
