Rhinos out to win against JDT II
Sabah are looking for a winning start in their Premier League match against Johor Darul Ta’zim II at the Pasir Gudang Stadium in Johor, tonight.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah are looking for a winning start in their Premier League match against Johor Darul Ta’zim II at the Pasir Gudang Stadium in Johor, tonight.
The clash with table enderopponent is Sabah’s first match of the second round and head coach Jelius Ating is quietly confident of winning the points.
“If we cannot win the game then at least we should get one point. But at the moment, the focus is to win,” he said.
Jelius is banking on solid preparation to deliver Sabah¡¦s victory while any advantage reflected in the table standings was dismissed by the nononsense coach.
“We prepared well for this game and we will do our best to come out on top. The match has nothing to do with our position in the standings.
“We faced them in the first round. They may be at the bottom but we know they are a good team. We have to do our best,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Sabah will approach the game with caution as their strengths and weaknesses were exposed by the same opponent in a previous match earlier this month.
In the game at the Likas Stadium on May 1, Sabah managed to salvage a point after coming from behind to eventually settle for a 1-1 draw.
“Maybe we were not at our best that night but we have improved and we will approach this game more cautiously.
“We want to win and we will do our best to get the points,” Jelius said, while adding that all his charges are ready. However, he said the starting line-up would be finalised after their training last night.
Meanwhile, the status of Korean imports Heo Jaenyong and Lee Gil Hoon would be determined after their training.
Jelius hoped the two players would remain focused on tonight’s game although the concern of their future with the team is quite understandable as their contracts lapse at the end of this month.
Jelius said the Sabah Football Association will decide later whether to extend their services or not.
Towards this end, Jelius stressed that the first-11 lineup for tonight’s game will be for deserving players only.
“That is why I want to see how the players perform in training before I decide who makes it in the line-up,” he said.
For the record, Sabah’s fixtures in the first round (10 matches) concluded quite well with a record of three wins, five draws and only two defeats.
They are currently fourth on 14 points, while JDT II are bottom of the 11-team standings on seven points from one win, four draws and five defeats.
Felda United FC still occupy top spot with 26 points followed by Felcra FC in second on 18 and Police in third with 15 points.