Felda could only play defensively with depleted squad, admits Nidzam

What was Felda United's game-plan in their semi-final FA Cup match against Kedah? It was simply to minimise the damage, according to Nidzam Jamil.

BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter

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Felda United boss Nidzam Jamil was blunt in his description of his tactics in their 1-0 first leg FA Cup semi-final defeat to Kedah on Saturday.

Fernando Rodriguez's 67th-minute penalty was all that separated the two teams at the Darul Aman Stadium, which means that the return leg next Sunday could still go either way. The spot kick was awarded for a foul by Haziq Puad on Renan Alves.

"We came here to play defensively, [as] we were without our best players, two of our regular defenders, and playing with only one foreign player. If I'm not mistaken, three of my players made their first appearance this season tonight. We simply lacked the depth.

"We could only prepare for the match after the [Super League] encounter against Petaling Jaya City (last Tuesday), and it was decided to play it safe tonight," he remarked bluntly in the post-match press conference.

Thiago Aquino and Masaki Watanabe were suspended for the match, while Khairul Amri and Arif Fadzilah Abu Bakar were sidelined due to injuries. Star skipper Hadin Azman and midfielder were on the bench, with the former just recovering from a fever, and the latter from an injury.

As his squad was depleted, the 39-year old coach was forced to switch to an unfamiliar formation with little preparation time, resulting in ineffective attacks.

"We played with five in the back for the first time, and we could only try it out in training for two hours two days ago. Those five defenders played in this formation for the first time tonight; it's quite a risky move but I believed that they could pull if off.

"[In attack] we tried going through Kedah's half spaces because we knew they were going to be dominant playing at home. At times it did look as if it was going to work, but due to my men's unfamiliarity with the formation, the final passes and deliveries were ineffective," explained Nidzam in response to a question by Goal.

He added that he came away from the encounter with relief as they only conceded one goal against a superior Kedah. As the Fighters can expect a full squad again for the second leg, a home fixture, he is bullish of their chances of reaching the final.

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