Skipper Amri Yahyah will be racing against time to get fit for Selangor’s Malaysia Cup semi-finals, first leg match against Terengganu at the Shah Alam Stadium Tuesday.
Amri injured his knee in the 1-0 quarter-final second leg win over Perak in Ipoh on Friday. The Red Giants won 4-1 on aggregate to reach the last four.
The 30-year-old has yet to train since the injury.
“My chances of playing is still 50-50. I really hope I can recover in time to play but if I don’t make it we still have capable players to take over,” said Amri.
“I believe we can beat Terengganu. We have good players in the team and we are equally motivated and confident after picking up four consecutive wins to make it to the semi-finals,” added Amri.
Selangor coach P. Maniam, however, is keeping his fingers crossed that Amri will recover in time for the match.
“Amri is an important player for us. If he cannot make it, we have to come out with a solution,” said the former international.
The good news for Selangor is that defensive midfielder Bunyamin Umar will be back from suspension to bolster the team.
For Maniam, he needs all his men at his disposal as Selangor go for an unprecedented 33rd Malaysia Cup triumph.
Terengganu, the FA Cup champions and runners-up in the Super League, reached the last four after a 5-3 aggregate win over defending champions Kelantan.
Selangor, however, have a good record against the Turtles this season. They drew 1-1 in Kuala Terengganu and won 3-2 in Shah Alam in the league.
“Past results mean nothing. We need to be careful as Terengganu are now full of confidence after dumping Kelantan out of the competition. They are very effective in counter-attacks so our defence have to be on their toes all the time,” said Maniam.
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim will be present at the stadium to lend support to the Red Giants and Maniam believes it will further motivate the players to go for a win.
“The team’s confidence is very high at the moment after a string of good results. And we always play to win in front of our home crowd,” said Maniam, a former Selangor midfielder.
Meanwhile, Selangor Football Asscociaton (FAS) general secretary Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the ticket for the match will be on sale from 9am onwards at the Shah Alam Stadium tomorrow.
The tickets are priced at RM15 for adults and RM5 for children.
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