Winning is all that ma ers – Jelius
Nothing says it be er than victory even when there are weaknesses in the team that need to be fixed, said Jelius A ng.
KOTA KINABALU: Nothing says it better than victory even when there are weaknesses in the team that need to be fixed, said Jelius Ating.
The Sabah Rhinos head coach said victory was enough for him to close one eye on any shortcomings in the team and he believed the fans agreed with him too.
Sabah notched a 2-0 win over PDRM in their second home match on Friday night. Fans around the stands showed their approval by signalling with their hand phones that they were happy with the team's performance in this early part of the season.
Fans used the camera lights on their mobile devices to support the team in anticipation of another victory as Sabah held their 2-0 lead until the end after Maxsius Musa and Heo Jaenyeong netted in the first and second half of the match respectively.
It was a sight not previously seen at the Likas Stadium here and a sign that only victory matters.
“Our weaknesses will be second issue so long as we continue to win. I am very happy and satisfied that we won this game even though we did not play as well as when we beat Terengganu FC II 4-0,” Jelius said when met shortly after the game.
“Our performance was not very impressive but we still managed to win. It would be pointless to play really well but fail to win so indeed I am very happy with tonight's result,” he added.
He said there are all kinds of outcomes in football matches.
“There are times that we play well but lose and there are times that we win despite falling short of par. For me, winning is all that matters, everything else is secondary,” Jelius said.
The Rhinos led 1-0 after Maxsius scored in the 16th minute, before Jaenyeong netted the other goal 22 minutes into the second half.
And in the process of winning the match Sabah were able to maintain another clean sheet.
“I hope we will continue to win regardless of our performance and especially at home so we can restore Likas Stadium as our stronghold.
“I think our unbeaten record of three matches (two wins and one draw) is a very good starting point. Yes, the team has some weaknesses and it is our job to address them,” Jelius said.
For now, the tight schedule prevents those weaknesses to be fixed but Jelius believes there will be plenty of chances to work on them later.
Since the start of the league last week, the team was only able to do light training between the three matches.
”Like tonight's match for example, we did not have any specific preparation because we got back here on Wednesday after the away game on Tuesday and we only managed to do some light training. There was no time to try and rectify weaknesses,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the incidents that forced defender Mafry Balang and winger Maxsius Musa to retire the match early, Jelius said he is relieved that their injuries are not serious.
“After this we have more time to strengthen the team because the next game (against Sarawak at the Likas Stadium) is on February 24. I hope by then all the players will be back in their best form including those who were injured tonight,” said Jelius.
Victory on Friday returned Sabah to the top of the 12-team standings on seven points. They would at least hold the top spot until Saturday's matches are played.
Sabah line-up: Robson Rendy Rining, Mafry Balang (Leopold Alfonso Otong), Rawilson Batuil, Jenius Karib, Randy Baruh @ Samson, Heo Jaenyong, Mohd Azizan Nordin, Sabri Sahar (Rico Nigel Milus), Maxsius Musa (Ummareng Bacok), Lee Gil Hoon and Hector Omar Ramos Lebron.