Striker Lee leads Rhinos to Sarawak win
Sabah shrugged off a slow start to earn a 2-1 win over Sarawak in an entertaining friendly match at the Likas Stadium here on Wednesday.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah shrugged off a slow start to earn a 2-1 win over Sarawak in an entertaining friendly match at the Likas Stadium here on Wednesday.
Striker Lee Gil Hoon was the toast of the hosts when the South Korean scored the opening goal before having a hand in the own goal by defender Demerson Bruno Costa to put Sabah Rhinos twonil up.
Mateo Roskam pulled a goal back for the Crocs late on but the Rhinos held on for a moraleboosting win in front of over 1,000 fans.
Head coach Jelius Ating was a mirror of joy when met at end of the game following the Rhinos positive response after their early jitters.
“We did not have the best start because we looked disorganised in the first 30 minutes of the game. The foreign and local players struggled to click but once they found their rhythm and understanding with each other, we improved.
“We were the better side from 15 minutes towards the end of the first half and then kept the momentum into the second period.
“Overall it was a good game for us because it was the first time all four of our foreign imports played together,” he said while adding the foreign footballers had been able to bring the best out of their local team-mates.
As expected, Jelius fielded his strongest line-up comprising Zambian Francis Kasonde, South Korean pair Heo Jaenyeong and Gil Hoon as well as Serbian Rodoljub Paunovic.
Kasonde was a calming influence at the back that featured fellow centre-back and captain of the night Rawilson Batuil and the full-backs Dendy Lowa and Jenius Karib protecting goalkeeper Rozaimie Rohim.
The only surprise was the inclusion of Mohd Azzizan Nordin who took his place alongside Jaenyeong as the two defensive midfielders despite suffering concussion in training just two days earlier.
Sabri Sahar, who usually operates at the base of midfield, was also preferred to Leopold Alfonso and Ummareng Bachok in an advance role as one of three attacking midfielders with Gil Hoon and Maxsius Musa supporting lone front man Paunovic.
Leopold, Ummareng and Randy Baruh also played their part in the game as second half substitutes.
The game started off following a 45-minute delay after the bus ferrying the Sarawak squad was involved in a fatal road accident on their way to the venue, although it did not stop them from making a good impression after kick-off.
It was not until the half-hour mark that Sabah finally found their rhythm and soon after the goal would arrive where an overlapping Jenius getting the assist with a fine cross.
The lively Gil Hoon sneaked in between the Sarawak centrebacks to head home from close range to send the crowd into frenzy in the 43rd minute.
The 34-year-old Gil Hoon then was involved heavily in the lead up to the second goal when the unfortunate Costa headed into his own net from tight angle in his attempt to clear a seemingly harmless cross from the South Korean on 64th minute.
Paunovic, who was a marked man throughout, then saw his fierce left footed shot bounced off the crossbar before Sarawak pulled a goal back in the 75th.
Roskam pounced on a loose ball after a mistimed clearance from Rawilson to roll the ball into the back of the net beating Rozaimie.
“We will take on Sarawak again on Sunday (June 18) and hopefully we will play much better after rectifying the weaknesses from the match just now (Wednesday night).
“These two matches are part of our preparation for the Premier League which will resume after Hari Raya,” added Jelius.
Meanwhile, the Sarawak senior football squad will be in action against Sabah’s President Cup squad at the Likas Stadium at 9pm today.