Rhinos Super League dream vanishing
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah chances of making the Super League next season are as good as over no thanks to a poor return of points in the second round of the Premier League campaign.
Friday's 1-4 defeat to second placed Terengganu T-Team stretched the Rhinos winless run to five matches in the country's second-tier football competition.
The unfavourable results too have put the squad under immense pressure withquestions now being raised on the position of head coach Mike Mulvey.
Mulvey led the team to second place at the conclusion of the league first round but all the good work seemed to have faded away since the start of the second round, in which Sabah preparations were also disrupted by off-the-field issue with El-Hadji Diouf.
After being excluded in Sabah's two previous fixtures, the former Senegal World Cupper was restored to the starting line-up on Friday but he could not lift the team like he used to in the first round.
In the end, T-Team punished Sabah in their own backyard and with the defeat, it means the Rhinos have only collected four points in seven matches they played in the second half of the season.
And with only four games left, sixth placed Sabah are left with only a mathematical chance of returning to topflight football.
In addition to that, they are now left to fight for only one of the two Super League places up for grabs as Kedah's 39 points are beyond Sabah's reach on 26 points.
However, it seems highly unlikely for them to even finish second if their current form is anything to go by.
Sabah next four opponents made up the top five teams of the league namely third placed Selangor PKNS (33 points), Penang (33 points), leaders Kedah and Johor Darul Takzim II (27 points).
With the quest for promotion almost certain to end in disappointment, Sabah next logical target would be to at least secure a place in the prestigious Malaysia Cup competition.
The top four teams will get automatic entry into the MCup main draw while the fifth and sixth placed teams would have to go through the playoffs with Super League sides to play in the country's oldest Cup competition.
But with Negeri Sembilan (25 points) breathing down their necks, Sabah Rhinos must rediscover the form that puts them among the genuine league contenders in the first round to secure a top six finish.
Sabah Rhinos must start producing the desired results starting from the away fixture against PKNS FC on August 11.
The squad will remain in the peninsula to play another two away games against Penang(August 14) and Kedah (August 18) before wrapping up their season with a home match against JDT II on August 21.