Old rivals Sabah, Perak to meet
Sabah and Perak will rekindle their rivalries in the domes c football scene when they face off in the last four stage of the Malaysia Cup this weekend.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah and Perak will rekindle their rivalries in the domestic football scene.
Just less than two weeks after the state juniors lost to Perak in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) semifinals, the senior teams are to face off in the last four stage of the Malaysia Cup.
The Rhinos will travel to Ipoh in the semifinals first leg at the Perak Stadium on October 7 before playing hosts in the return leg at the Likas Stadium on October 21.
Team manager Datuk Juil Nuatim, when met here recently, stated that Sabah deserved to be among the top four teams in the Malaysia Cup following their impressive run in the country’s most prestigious football competition.
“Our initial target was to qualify for the semifinals, (it) means we have achieved what we set out for in the competition.
“If we were to go into the final, it will be a huge bonus for Sabah,” Juil said after the Sabah versus Kelantan quarter-final tie that ended 2-2 on aggregate, thus sending Sabah into the semifinals.
“The achievement tonight (Saturday) was a great achievement taking into consideration that it was our first appearance in Malaysia Cup in seven years.
“Credit to the players and the coach(es) for their commitment while the fans have been great on the night.
“We will give our best in the semifinals,” he said while describing making the semifinals the pride of Sabah.
Meanwhile, head coach Jelius Ating expected a difficult task, if not different kinds of challenges, to come from Perak in the twolegged battles.
He said while their quarter-final opponents Kelantan had young and energetic players, Perak boast better individual players as well as being strengthened by several national footballers alongside great foreign signings.
“However hard the opponents are, we will try to come up our own strategy to nullify their threats.
“We have beaten several Super League teams to get here and there’s no reason why we can’t achieve it against Perak.
“I’ve watched the other semifinals between Perak and (Selangor) PKNS and they are a good team. However, I have faith in my players.
“We will watch a video recording of the match again to study our opponents and come up with options to beat them,” said Jelius yesterday.
For the record, it will be the fourth meeting between Sabah and Perak in the semifinals of the Malaysia Cup in the new Millenium.
Sabah emerged victorious in 2002 with a 4-2 aggregate (1-1 home, 3-1 away) and also in 2003 with a 4-3 aggregate win (2-2 home, 2-1 away). However, Sabah lost in 2007 at the same stage on 2-3 aggregate (1-1 home, 1-2 away).
Despite making it to three finals including in 1996, the Malaysia Cup title remained elusive for the Rhinos, who settled for runner-up finishes in all three occasions.
Perak, who edged PKNS 2-0 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, are a seven-time Malaysia Cup winners but the last they won was back in 2000.
The other semifinals will pit Johor Darul Takzim against Terengganu.