Rhinos land tough draw against JDT
Sabah have been handed a tough draw against Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) in the second round of the FA Cup compe on.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah have been handed a tough draw against Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) in the second round of the FA Cup competition.
The Rhinos, however, will have the home support for the clash against the ‘Galacticos of Malaysian football’ as the singles knock-out round will be played at the Likas Stadium.
The second round of the FA Cup fixtures will be played on March 2 and 3.
Sabah head coach Jelius Ating welcomed the outcome of the draw ceremony held on Monday night, despite understanding the difficult task of tackling the mighty JDT.
“The FA Cup draw is the same for every team, we can’t choose our opponents, and not to mention being paired with Super League team.
“We have got JDT in our way and we all know they are currently the best team in Malaysia. They have the best players and management.
“The draw outcome, is such so we have to face it,” he said yesterday.
Having said that, Jelius stressed that Sabah are not going to be intimidated by the reputation of the second round opponents.
“Obviously, we are the clear underdogs but I don’t think the pressure is on us...it is on the favourites (JDT).
“We must not also have the thought of feeling inferior or scared because it means we have already lost the game without kicking the ball.
“No match is finished until the final whistle is blown and until then, we will give our utmost best with hopes of getting the desired result.
“Anything can happen in football and we have seen huge upsets in competitions in foreign leagues...it could happen to us,” said the former Rhinos captain while hoping the match will turn out to be a good game of football with much excitement.
For the record, Sabah were quarterfinalists in the last two editions of the FA Cup.
Overall, Sabah have played in four FA Cup finals where they emerged as champions in 1995 while finishing as runners-up in 1993, 1994 and 1998.
Meanwhile, the Rhinos took on Felcra FC in their first Premier League fixtures at the Shah Alam Stadium last night.
It was Sabah’s second league game of the season after having thrashed Terengganu FC II in the opening game last week to top the 12-team table.