Slow start to Rhinos’ Philippines tour
Nine-man Sabah kicked off their pre-season tour of the Philippines with a 1-5 defeat to Global Cebu FC yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: Nine-man Sabah kicked off their pre-season tour of the Philippines with a 1-5 defeat to Global Cebu FC yesterday.
Played at the Philippines Football Federation (PFF) National Training Centre, the Rhinos were able to match their hosts and even took an early lead.
However, two red cards in each half put a damper on head coach Jelius Ating’s plan for the game.
The Rhinos, who only arrived in Manila late Monday, suffered misfortune en route to the PFF National Training Centre where they not only lost their way but the bus they travelled in also suffered a punctured tyre.
They only arrived at the venue half-an-hour before kick-off, which resulted in a 15-minute delay to the game.
However, it did not stop them from scoring the first goal when Heo Jaenyeong stabbed home from inside the box from Jenius Karib’s pass in the third minute.
The match was evenly contested but Cebu FC found the equaliser in the 29th minute before Sabah suffered their first setback 10 minutes later when Randy Baruh was brandished a red card for a high tackle.
The first half ended 1-1.
Cebu FC then added a second after the break before Sabah’s misfortune piled on when Mafry Balang’s overhit back pass beat his own goalkeeper, Robson Rendy Rining.
The Rhinos were reduced to nine men with around 20 minutes to play when Ummareng Bacok was shown a straight red for a tackle on a Cebu FC player.
The hosts took their numerical advantage to score two late goals to complete the scoring.
Team manager Datuk Juil Nuatim hoped that the players do not mind the scoreline but learn from the defeat to improve instead.
“We did quite well until we were reduced to nine men. The most important thing is that we must learn from this experience...this is our main objective to come here (the Philippines) to play against top quality opponents for our preparation.
“We will try to be better in the second friendly match,” he said, referring to their last fixtures in the neighbouring country against Kaya FC Makati tomorrow.
The Rhinos are currently preparing for the new Malaysian League campaign where they will play their first Premier League game against Terengganu FC II at the Likas Stadium on February 2.