Rhinos down Terengganu 2-1
Sabah’s performance showed notable improvement in their 2-1 win over Premier League rivals Terengganu FC II at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Terengganu on Friday night.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s performance showed notable improvement in their 2-1 win over Premier League rivals Terengganu FC II at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Terengganu on Friday night.
“Improvement was most notable in our confidence and possession. These were strengths we possessed at the beginning of the season, which we later struggled to gain back towards the end of the first round.
“Overall, I am satisfied and happy with the team’s performance, especially considering that we had a few main players missing due to injury and suspension,” said Sabah head coach Jelius Ating when contacted yesterday.
Both sides remained in deadlock before Sabah netted the first goal one minute into the second half thanks to a header by Hector Omar Ramos Lebron, fondly known among team mates as Pito, from Sabri Sahar’s cross.
Sabah later doubled their lead in the 89th minute through Rodoljub Paunovic after keeper Mohd Suhaimi Husin failed to make a safe clearance from Rodoljub’s earlier attempt.
“After leading 2-0 we tried to hold the ball but the opponent managed to pull one back in injury time (through Mohd Izham Tarmizi).
“We actually worked on this (conceding goals) in training but it seems we need to focus more attention because many of the goals we conceded were due to our own mistakes,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jelius lauded some of his younger players, including defenders Evan Wensley Wenceslaus and Dendy Lowa, for their notable performance. He was also happy with the good work rate show by striker Hamran Peter. The three were featured in the starting-11 following the absence of several key players from the first-team.
Sabah entered the match without two main defenders, Mafry Balang and Jenius Karib. Japanese midfield import Keisuke Ogawa was also absent due to injury.
Towards this end, Jelius said he was also pleased with the combination between Hector and Paunovic in leading the attack.
“Pito managed to score his fifth goal in consecutive matches and he now has a tally of 11 goals this season.
“And while our resurgence might be too late for Super League promotion, we have to note that every improvement we make is important. We also have three matches remaining to determine if we qualify or not for the Malaysia Cup competition,” he said.
The win against Terengganu FC II helped to lift Sabah one spot in the standings from fifth place to fourth. They are currently on 24 points and on track to making an appearance in the Malaysia Cup, which accords slots to the top five teams in the Premier League.
However, promotion to the Super League might be out of reach as only the top two teams from the tier two Premier League will make it to the top flight.
Currently, those slots are being held by leaders Felda United FC who are on 38 points and second spot Felcra FC on 31.
Sabah will continue their Premier League challenge in a match against Penang at the Likas Stadium on July 18.