Rhinos snatch full points from Police
Sabah Rhinos are pleased to have resumed their Premier League challenge with a 1-0 away win over Police at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka on Friday.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Rhinos are pleased to have resumed their Premier League challenge with a 1-0 away win over Police at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka on Friday.
South Korean import striker Lee Gil Hoon scored the solitary goal in the 77th minute. Victory after the long break is a big boost for Sabah and taking three points from the first match of the second round is a great result.
Team manager Datuk Juil Nuatim said the win helped to bounce the team back from the home defeat (3-1) to the same opponent at the Likas Stadium on April 25.
“We beat the team that beat us in the first round and we did it away from home so it was considered a big relief for us.
“It was tough but we measured up and I am happy with the result even if it was only a slim victory. The important thing is that we won and we got the points,” he said when contacted, yesterday.
The win, Juil said, was credited to all the hard work and spirit of everyone on the team.
“I hope we can continue to win to improve our position in the standings and also to inject confidence in everyone especially the fans that the team has indeed improved.
“Congratulations to head coach Jelius Ating and all the other coaches. I hope this will inspire everyone to continue to strive for victory,” Juil said.
Jelius is also pleased with the results having worked tirelessly with the players to shape the squad that he wanted. They have improved in their game and players have shown synergy in combinations introduced by the rookie head coach.
Sabah’s first-11 for the match were Rozaimie Rohim (goalkeeper), Francis Kasonde, Rawilson Batuil (defenders), Dendy Lowa (right-back), Alto Linus (left-back), Heo Jaenyong, Azizan Nordin (defensivemidfield), Maxsius Musa, Lee, Sabri Sahar (forward-midfield) and Rodiljub Paunovic (striker).
Jelius introduced two substitutes for Leopold Otong and Umareng Bacok to come on for Maxsius and Sabri.
He said it was the first real match that all four foreign import players (Francis, Heo, Lee and Paunovic, who were recruited after Juil took over as team manager not too long ago) were in a league match together and it yielded a positive result.
According to Jelius, both teams played a good game and that equal opportunities were created at goal.
He said at one point Police became a real nuisance in front of goal but in the end it was Sabah that managed to break the deadlock.
“I think Rozaimie (goalkeeper) did well to pull off several good saves to keep us level. And it was also team work that allowed us to prevail. We defended and attacked well because we played as a team,” he said.
The win meant that the Rhinos are now on 14 points from as many matches with four wins, two draws and eight defeats. They will need a few more wins to help them climb the rungs from ninth spot in the 12-team standings.
However, the chance for Sabah to finish higher in the table is still open as there are eight more matches before the season’s end.
Sabah will continue their quest against Kelab Bolasepak Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNP FC) at the Likas Stadium here on July 10.
Results from other matches saw leaders Negeri Sembilan win 1-0 against Perlis, Kuala Lumpur beat MISC-MIFA 21, PKNP FC beat UiTM FC 1-0, Kuantan FA beat Armed Forces 3-1 and Terengganu drew 2-2 with JDT II.