Selangor coach P. Maniam claims his side were unlucky to lose 1-0 to Singapore in the annual Sultan of Selangor’s Cup match at the Shah Alam Stadium on Saturday.
Selangor defender Asraruddin Putra Omar’s own goal gave the Lions their sixth win since the inception of the series in 2001.
Singapore have won the Cup in 2004 (joint winners with MPPJ), 2006, 2007, 2009 and last year.
The Red Giants had more of the possession in Saturday’s match but failed to finish off the chances created by an attack bolstered by guest players, former Manchester United player Jesper Blomqvist and international Safee Sali.
“We were unlucky not to win the match. We just couldn’t finish off the chances we created,” said Maniam.
“The team played well and our guest players gave everything they had but then again, luck was not on our side.”
Selangor will need better luck and finishing if they are to meet their objective of winning their 33rd Malaysia Cup this season.
Maniam’s outfit face Perak in the quarter-finals with the first leg at the Shah Alam Stadium on Oct 10 and the return leg in Ipoh on Oct 14.
The lack of a clinical finisher remains a problem for Selangor since the departure of Safee to Indonesian club Pelita Jaya in February.
However, Maniam is not too concerned as his charges have scored six goals in their last two matches in the Malaysia Cup group stage.
“The players were not 100 per cent fit against Singapore but we have a few more days to prepare for the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals,” he said.
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