Negeri Sembilan are finally showing their true colours in the Malaysia Cup after their failure to win the Super League or FA Cup title.
The star-studded side, led by Shukor Adan, are the only team in the competition with maximum points at the halfway stage following wins over Premier League champions PKNS (2-1), Sime Darby (5-0) and FA Cup winners Terengganu (1-0) in Group B.
Negri's impressive wins have got other teams taking notice of them with some saying they are the new favourites to lift the Malaysia Cup. Coach Azraai Khor, however, brushed aside talks about his team being the favourite.
Negri's impressive wins have got other teams taking notice of them with some saying they are the new favourites to lift the Malaysia Cup. Coach Azraai Khor, however, brushed aside talks about his team being the favourite.
"We need to keep winning and qualify for the quarter-finals. We want to take things one step at the time. My players are playing well and I want them to keep doing that," said Azraai after Negri's win over Terengganu in Paroi on Tuesday.
"We need to maintain our momentum as we cannot afford to slip at this stage. I do not care whether we finish champions or runners-up in our group as long we qualify for the quarter-finals.
"Other teams have rated us highly but I do not want this to affect our performance. Over-confidence can sometimes lead to bad things. We still have a long way to go before the knockout stage."
"Other teams have rated us highly but I do not want this to affect our performance. Over-confidence can sometimes lead to bad things. We still have a long way to go before the knockout stage."
Shahurain Abu Samah's solitary strike in the second half was enough for Negri to collect three points from Terengganu.
Negri, the two-time Malaysia Cup winners, dominated proceedings as Terengganu hardly found any room to create opportunities. "We dominated play but scored only one goal. My players need to be sharper as things will get tougher," said Azraai, a former national Under-21 coach.
The Negri FA was expecting its team to make a huge impact on the season opening Super League after signing several top players in the pre-season. But it did not go as planned as their progress in the league and FA Cup was hindered by injuries to key players.
However, Negri's fortunes have changed in the Malaysia Cup as most of their injured players, except for the Radzak twins, centreback Zaquan Adha and striker Aidil Zafuan, have returned to full fitness.
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