March 25, 2004
Trouble is brewing at Negri Sembilan who are to play the Eagles in the AFC Cup on April 7.
Long-serving Negri Sembilan FA (NSFA) secretary Datuk Abdullah Sani has threaten to quit his post if the team showed no progress in their next 3 matches in the Malaysian Premier League.
Abdullah, who has served the FA for the last 16 years, said that he was disappointed and frustrated by the poor showing of the team in the Premier League as well in the inaugural AFC Cup competition.
He is angry that the players, including the foreign signings from Africa who had showed a lot of promise in the pre-season failed to deliver when it come to the real thing.
He could not stand for it anymore & they better deliver or it all over for him.
Negri Sembilan are in 5th spot in Group B with only 4 points from the four drawn matches -MPPJ (1-1), Malacca (1-1), Johor (1-1), MK Land (1-1).
He was especially disappointed with the 2 Nigerian strikers, Abdullah of Duke Effiong and Abdul Razak Ekpoki, who scored in all the friendly matches in the pre-season but are now struggling to find any form.
Effiong has a goal to his credit after 4 matches in the Malaysia Premier league but Ekpoki has been firing blanks. But the duo gave good impressions in Negri Sembilan opening AFC Cup Group E match when they thrashed Island FC of Maldives 6-0 with Effiong scoring a hat-trick & Ekpoki netted 2 goals.
The other foreigner in the team is Nigerian keeper Cajetan Ndubuisi.
Negri Sembilan will open the defence of the FA Cup against Kelantan TNB in a second-round first-leg match on mach 26.