Let me go: Selangor’s Willian Lira (left) vying for the ball with Negri Sembilan’s Filip Andersen during their FA Cup quarter-final second leg match. — ART CHEN/The Star
PETALING JAYA: Selangor interim coach Christophe Gamel admitted he took plenty of risks with his line-up in their FA Cup quarter-final second leg against Negri Sembilan but was left disappointed by the performance of some of his senior players.
Despite falling 2-3 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Wednesday, the Red Giants advanced 6-3 on aggregate after their dominant 4-0 first-leg win in Paroi last week.
Selangor will face Sabah in the semi-finals after the Rhinos defeated Kelantan 5-2 on aggregate.
It will be either from Nov 8-9 or Nov 29-30.
The Frenchman said he was ‘in two moods’ – pleased with the overall result but unhappy with some of his experienced players who failed to live up to expectations.
“I’m happy because we advanced with a rotated squad, but disappointed with some senior players who didn’t perform as I expected,” said Gamel.
“I took many risks. I rotated a lot because I had no choice, and unfortunately, we lost two players. That reduced our chances a lot, especially with more travel ahead.
“The next three games will be tough as we try to rebuild the team after losing two more players.”
Selangor’s defence came under scrutiny after conceding three goals - two in the first half and one in the second - a stark contrast to their solid showing against Kuala Lumpur City previously, when both sides eked out a 0-0 draw in the Super League last weekend.
“It shows our inconsistency,” Gamel admitted.
“We were excellent defensively in the last match, but that was our weakest part this time. These things take time and continuity to fix.”
Negri stunned the home crowd early when leftback Harith Shamsuri opened the scoring in the 12th minute, followed by N. Javabilaarivin’s strike in the 27th minute.
Selangor pulled one back through striker Willian Lira in the 42nd, but winger Mio Tsuneyasu’s goal in the 80th reignited Negri’s hopes before captain and winger Faisal Halim sealed Selangor’s progress with a goal in the 86th minute.
“I was frustrated with the first goal we conceded because right before that, we had a chance to score through our young player Harry but he lacked the killer instinct,” said Gamel.
Before their FA Cup semi match-up, Selangor will face Sabah at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu tomorrow and Gamel hopes his squad would be physically and mentally ready.
