PETALING JAYA: Negri Sembilan winger Akhyar Rashid wants his teammates to leave their recent setback behind and respond positively when they host Kelantan City in the second leg of their FA Cup last-16 tie at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi today.
With home support behind them, the 27-year-old believes the Deer can rally together, turn the tie around and book their place in the quarter-finals.
Kelantan won 2-0 in the first leg last week.
“I think we need to put the previous results behind us and focus on the FA Cup match. I will remind my teammates to keep believing in one another, stay positive, and work hard,” said Akhyar, fondly known as Mat Yat among his peers.
“We need to learn from our past mistakes, unite as a team, and give everything to get the result we want.”
Negri will be counting on Akhyar for inspiration after he inspired them to fight back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Star City in the Super League at the weekend, also in Paroi.
Star City took the lead in the 39th minute when Brazilian winger Pedro Henrique latched onto a defence-splitting pass from compatriot Pedro Santos, rounded goalkeeper Azri Ghani and slotted into an empty net. Winger T. Saravanan’s pressing had set up the move, allowing striker Douglas Oliveira to launch the attack.
Star City doubled their advantage just a minute into the second half through Bahraini midfielder Moses Atede, who drove into the box before firing home from the edge of the area.
Negri were thrown a lifeline in the 74th minute when Star City centreback Rafael Vitor fouled striker Abdul Rahman Daud in the box.
Akhyar converted the resulting penalty, his effort cannoning in off the crossbar past goalkeeper Farhan Majid.
The hosts continued to push but lacked composure in the final third, while Star City looked to hit back on the counter.
Deep into injury time, Akhyar struck again, curling home a stunning effort from inside the box to complete his brace and salvage a share of the spoils.
Reflecting on his performance, Akhyar admitted his first-half display left room for improvement.
“I feel that my performance in the first half wasn’t quite satisfying, and there are still a few things I can improve. Playing in the afternoon was also a bit challenging, but I tried to adapt and improve my play in the second half,” he said.
“Praise be to God, I managed to score two goals, but to me, the effort of the whole team until the final minute was the most important thing.”
He added that both strikes carried significance beyond the scoreline.
“The first goal from the penalty spot boosted our confidence to keep chasing for more goals. As for the equaliser, I tried to stay focused until the very last second and make the most of the opportunity that came.”
