Juil says s ll proud of Rhinos
Datuk Juil Nua m said he was s ll proud of the Rhinos despite missing out on the Malaysia Cup final.
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Juil Nuatim said he was still proud of the Rhinos despite missing out on the Malaysia Cup final.
The team manager, in fact, highlighted that making it to the semifinals after a seven-year hiatus from the country’s most prestigious football competition was already an achievement.
“If you ask anyone whether Sabah would have gone this far before the start of the tournament, I don’t think anyone would have thought of it.
“Sabah are the last team to qualify (and the lowest ranked team) in the Malaysia Cup. We were also drawn into a group that contained three Super League teams.
“At first, I had my doubts of whether we could get past the group stages. But we fought hard and in the end, we emerged as the group winners,” he said when met after the Malaysia Cup semifinals second leg here on Sunday.
After topping the group that featured Selangor, Pahang and PKNP FC, the Rhinos continued their fine form by beating Kelantan on the away goal rule after the quarter-final match had ended 2-2 on aggregate to move into the last four.
In Perak, the Rhinos had finally found their match as they bowed out 2-7 on aggregate to the team nicknamed The Bos Gaurus.
Sabah lost the first leg 0-5 in Ipoh but at the Likas Stadium on Sunday, the Jelius Atingcoached side refused to surrender without a fight, showing their trademark fighting display and aggressiveness to trouble Perak.
A victory did not materialise but a 2-2 outcome against a fullstrength Perak at least restored some pride for the Rhinos.
Sabri Sahar and captain Rawilson Batuil were on the score sheet for Sabah while Brazilian striker Gilmar Jose Da Silva Filho’s replied for the visitors in the second leg.
“I hope the fans will not be too disappointed because to be in the semifinals is already something that we could be proud of.
“The players too did their best with a much improved display from the first leg. However, we have to admit that Perak are a team packed with quality compared to Sabah.
“They are very strong with good qualified foreign imports and local players. But we were not intimidated as we showed great team spirit and worked hard all game to make life difficult for Perak,” he added.
Meanwhile, the team management will call for a meeting soon to discuss the senior squad preparation for the next season.
“We will try to select the players for next season the sooner the better and if Jelius remains (as head coach), he will be in charge of the selection trials.
“Since being appointed to handle the (senior) team, Jelius has done a lot to help the team, including leading the squad to where they are today...I certainly hope he will be retained,” said Juil.