Selangor undone by Pacheco's absence, defensive errors - Nazliazmi
BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
Despite arriving in Kota Bharu with a five-match unbeaten streak in the Super League (MSL), Selangor fell to a shock 2-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Kelantan on Wednesday.
Substitute Sean Selvaraj's 78th minute goal cancelled Shafiq Shaharudin's 35th minute opener, but the hosts claimed the three points four minutes from time through Danial Ashraf Abdullah's winner.
Goals from the Kelantan vs Selangor match
In fact, the Red Giants played one of their worst games of the season, with the defence giving up possession and giving the ball away multiple times in the match, and Kelantan could have won by a bigger margin had their forwards been more clinical.
When interviewed by the match broadcaster following the match, Selangor head coach Nazliazmi Nasir blamed his men's lack of belief for the defeat. Last Saturday they lost 2-0 to Pahang in the FA Cup final.
"Kelantan played with determination tonight, but my men also made it worse for themselves, playing without self-confidence.
"They didn't play as a team and made basic mistakes, which led to Kelantan's two goals," he remarked.
He also admitted that his side were missing centre back Willian Pacheco, who is injured.
"Admittedly, Pacheco's absence has affected us. Kelantan forwards combined well in attack, and Pacheco could have stopped their aerial balls and one-on-one situations if he had been available.
"The defence too were careless; yes we were in search of goals, but they were not aware of Kelantan's counter attacks. In the end, Kelantan were able to simply punish us," explained the former youth coach.
The result was enough to allow Kelantan to move up one spot to 11th place, while Selangor dropped down to eighth.
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