Junior Rhinos, JDT III clash for stronger finish

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah under-21 squad are determined to conclude the President Cup Group A campaign on a winning note as the Junior Rhinos face Johor Darul Takzim III (JDT III) in a tricky away tie at the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council Stadium today.

While the teams have already secured their quarterfinal place the match will not be short of excitement, especially when a victory could mean a better finish to their current group position.

The teams are tied on 40 points where only goals difference separate them with JDT III in second and Sabah in third place.

The Junior Rhinos, however, have another reason to go all out for the win, especially after losing in their last two matches which saw them surrender the top position.

“It is the last game of the group and obviously, we want to end it on a positive note. We are not going there just to complete the fixtures...we will treat it as the final game,” said head coach Johnny Dominicus yesterday.

“A victory could get us higher standing but what’s more important now is that the victory will help restore confidence among the players following the back-to-back defeats.

“That is why I’m sending my best possible line-up for the game as we also need to make sure that our players are in good shape for the quarterfinals, which will kick off one week later,” he said while hoping that the players avoid injuries.

When asked on their potential quarterfinal opponents, Johnny revealed he had no preferences as every team who made it to the knock-out stage were good teams.

Meanwhile, the Junior Rhinos will be without four key players for the JDT III clash, including Stanley Sulong who scored twice in the 2-0 win over the same opponents in the first round.

Stanley will stay behind on compassionate ground and he will be joined by Hamran Peter, Evan Wensley Wenceslaus and captain Muhammad Zaki Sapri as the notable absentees.

Hamran and Evan have been given extra rest after turning out for the senior team in the Premier League tie on Friday while Zaki was still recovering from a knee injury.

Johnny, however, will have the rest of the squad available including goalkeeper Mohd Sakri Masri and midfielder Mohd Aidil Safee from the senior squad.

The other fixtures today will see leaders Kedah play away to Selangor United FC, fourth placed Kelantan taking on Malacca, Pahang versus the Armed Forces (ATM) and Perlis take on MiscMifa.