No stopping me: Selangor’s Noor Al-Rawabdeh (right) vows to go all out to reach the FA Cup final.
PETALING JAYA: Midfielder Noor Al-Rawabdeh’s resilience should inspire Selangor to go for the kill in the FA Cup semi-finals second leg, says coach Nidzam Jamil.
The Jordanian literally shed blood and sweat en route to his sides’ 2-3 defeat against Terengganu in the first leg at Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak on Friday.
They will play the second leg at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Aug 3.
Noor was lauded by fans for his gutsy performance even though he was floored at one point with a cut on his forehead.
The medical staff stopped the bleeding but instead of quitting, the 27-year-old continued and went on to score an equaliser in the 48th minute.
The joy however, was shortlived as Terengganu eventually got the winner in the 70th minute through Ismaheel Akinade.
Selangor’s other goal was scored by Alvin Fortes in the 39th minute. Terengganu’s first two were delivered by Safawi Rasid (30th) and Nurillo Tukthasinov (35th).
Nidzam said Noor’s dedication should inspire the club to do well in the return game.
“Noor was supposed to have five stitches on his head during half time. During the team talk, he wanted to continue playing with that condition. I respected that,” said Nidzam.
“Commitment-wise, I can’t take that away from my boys, they have shown it.
“But in football, you need to combine that and tactics to deliver the goods.
“I wished we had ended the game 2-2 but Terengganu are no pushovers. They are well balanced in defence and midfield and they have strong attacking power as well.
“If we focus on the defeat, we will not go far. We have another leg, and we will go all out to reach the final.”
Nidzam though has to be a little worried as Selangor have lost all their away matches this season.
In the Super League, they lost to Kuala Lumpur 0-1 and in the FA Cup, they lost the quarter-final first-leg game against Kuching City 2-1 and now, Terengganu 2-3.
Nidzam said: “We have lost all three away matches so far. It’s not too worrying but it is something we have to tackle.
“We have been conceding a lot of goals, we have to stop that.”
