Sabah ready to face Selangor
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah under-21 squad face their toughest test yet in the President Cup when they take on Group A leaders Selangor at the Likas Stadium today.
The Tambadaus Junior however pledged they were ready to tackle Selangor, who will go into the game with a perfect record of five wins in as many matches.
The state juniors are certainly no pushovers as they look to protect their three-match unbeaten run in the league.
“I’m confident our players are more than ready to face Selangor and mount a strong challenge (for the desired result).
“It’s not going to be easy because we are facing off against a team who have won all their matches in the group, but, we are very determined to put a halt to their impressive run.
“We will give our best,” said the experienced coach.
Justin went on to say that the squad had been practising their finishing, the one area that had been identified as the team Achilles’ Heel.
With only three goals scored in their opening five games, Justin knew they must improved fast if they were to get positive result against Selangor.
“It (finishing) is a concern for us but we have made efforts in our daily training to improve. Hopefully, the hard work will pay off tomorrow (today),” he said.
Justin also added that Selangor would be ideal opponents to gauge their true strength, not only in terms of finishing but also the team’s overall progress since they started preparations for the competition from a few months back.
“There is no better way to do it other than taking on the group leaders,” he said.
Meanwhile, striker Mohd Shariman Mukarim will miss the clash as he is still mourning for his brother who died recently.
“On behalf of the team, I would like to express our deepest condolences to him and his family...our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this difficult time,” said Justin.
Faizulnizam Aziz is set to start in place of Shariman where he will partner Ariusdius Jais while the rest of the line-up remains unchanged.
For the record, Sabah are on a three-match unbeaten run although their last outing ended in a scoreless draw away to Kedah, where the Tambadaus Junior had a penalty saved.
Overall, Sabah are on two wins, one draw and two losses to occupy sixth placing with seven points while Selangor lead with 15 points.