Jelius happy but sees Rhinos flaws
Sabah Rhinos head coach Jelius A ng is happy with the big win notched by his charges, but stressed that things did not go as smoothly as he expected.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Rhinos head coach Jelius Ating is happy with the big win notched by his charges, but stressed that things did not go as smoothly as he expected.
The team's flaws were overlooked by their 4-0 win against Terengganu FC II, but Jelius insisted there is room for making improvements in their game.
“That's the way we play. The team's performance was not as what we wanted. There's still plenty of weaknesses that need to be fixed but the important thing is we got what we needed...to win this first match.
“I believe the team could play better but we have to continue working hard to step up our performance,” Jelius said when met shortly after the match at the Likas Stadium here on Friday night.
Sabah led 1-0 at the break thanks to Lee Gil Hoon's 25-metre strike inside the first four minutes of the game.
Rawilson Batuil made it 3-0 with conversions from the corner (by Sabri Sahar) in the 56th and 79th minutes, before Hector Ramos made it 4-0.
The Puerto Rican striker, who is fondly known among fans back home as 'Pito' was so happy with scoring on his debut, that he did a black flip to celebrate the late goal (90+3).
Meanwhile, Jelius did not hope for a big win but welcomed the prospect of going top of the table as winners elsewhere in the Premier League scene failed to tip the scales so wildly.
“I did not expect such a big win. The target was just to win but the players worked hard and wanted more. This is the kind of spirit we want. It is this kind of attitude that brought us this victory,” he said.
“The players played as a team, they did well to keep the ball and dominated the game in every area. The back four comprised only local players but they did their jobs well, while players in the centre created good movements around the field and we were dangerous up front,” Jelius added.
He hoped the victory would not only motivate the players but also inject confidence in the fans to give more support in the next game.
“There are weaknesses... and I hear the fans complain whenever we lose the ball or make a mistake. But weaknesses are meant to be resolved, not to be made a fuss of,” Jelius said.
When asked to comment on Pito, who just joined the team two weeks ago, Jelius had only positive comments about the 28-year-old striker.
He said the player has yet to reach full fitness but that his presence has brought positive impacts to the team.
“Me and the manager (Datuk Juil Nuatim) are very happy... we chose him without any prior trials and it wasn't an easy decision but based on what we knew we felt we made a good choice as we are confident he is a good player.
“He just joined us about two weeks ago and he is gelling very well with everyone in the squad and today he proved that he can score,” Jelius said.
The win put Sabah at the top of the order in the 12-team standings and hopefully they maintain their ways against Felcra FC at the Shah Alam Stadium on Tuesday (Feb 6).
After that they return home to host Police on Friday (Feb 9).