KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor coach Raimi Yusof has stressed that his charges will have to be at their best if they are to have any chance of beating an experienced Johor side in the Agong's Cup semi-finals on Saturday (Oct 19).
Selangor booked their spot in the final-four after downing Kuala Lumpur 38-22 in Sungai Buloh yesterday (Oct 13).
Raimi said his squad did not meet his expectations in the Klang Valley derby.
The other semi-final will see defending champions Police face-off against Terengganu. Both matches will be played at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam.
"It was a bit disappointing, we did not play our game against Kuala Lumpur," said Raimi when contacted today.
"I think the boys' took things for granted and were not mentally prepared. Most of our pattern plays did not work out.
"I hope we have enough time to rectify our weaknesses because Johor is a formidable team with massive experience."
Selangor are six-time winners of the Agong's Cup though it has been almost two decades since they lifted the nation's most prestigious domestic trophy. Their last win was in 2006.
Raimi said his side cannot afford to be sloppy against Johor who are two-time winners (2013, 2017) of the competition.
"I believe Johor will be the favourites going into the match, they are very experienced while our boys are much younger. At least 10 of our players are competing in the Agong's Cup for the first time," said Raimi.
"Johor have very good players in key positions including the veteran Syahir Asyraf Rosli as flyhalf. They also have a strong kicker.
"We cannot afford to make any mistakes because we will be penalised and will end up playing catch-up.
"Every time we make a mistake we will put ourselves under pressure. Penalties are easy points for the opposition, two kicks equal one try.
"But on a positive note, our younger players are very hungry. We will motivate them and hopefully inspire them to create an upset.
"We have not won the Agong's Cup in a very long time."
Raimi added that Selangor have only selected players that compete in the Selangor State League, Selangor Malaysia Games (Sukma) squad, Selangor sevens squad or the Selangor Maksak League for their Agong's Cup squad.