Borneo clash kicks off today
Sabah travelled to Kuching yesterday, determined to keep their winning momentum intact in the Premier League.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah travelled to Kuching yesterday, determined to keep their winning momentum intact in the Premier League.
The Rhinos will take on Sarawak in a Borneo derby clash starting at 4.15pm today, where a third straight win could prove crucial to their hopes of making the Malaysia Cup and, more importantly, get their promotion quest back on track.
Head coach Jelius Ating said despite a mid-season slump that saw them go seven games without a win until their last two matches (3-0 win over UiTM FC and 3-2 against MISC-MIFA), he has not lost hope of the targets set.
“The targets remain as they are, which is to qualify for the Malaysia Cup and Super League.
“It will not be easy. We need to work hard to get victories in our remaining five matches to have the chance to achieve the aims.
“It is not an impossible task. The most important thing is that the players must be focused and try and extend the two-game winning momentum further,” he said here yesterday.
Jelius went on to say that he hoped to see the same fighting spirit, determination and commitment displayed in the 3-2 comeback win over MISC-MIFA here last week.
“We were exposed in the first 25 minutes because of the slow start that we made in the game. We conceded two goals as a results.
“I want the players to play their ‘A’ game right from kick-off. We don’t want a repeat of what happened in the last game...we may have come back from twogoal down and won then, but it is exactly the same every time,” he advised.
Meanwhile, Sabah will welcome back Maxsius Musa from a onematch suspension but defence stalwarts Maffry Balang and Jenius Karib are still sidelined with injuries.
Rozaimi Rohim is expected to retain his place in between the goalposts while captain Rawilson Batuil, Zambian footballer Francis Kasonde, Randy Baruh and Dendy Lowa will form the four-man defence.
In midfield, Mohd Azzizan Nordin and Keisuke Ogawa will start centrally while Sabri Sahar and Maxsius provide the width supporting strikers Rodoljub Paunovic and Hector Ramos.
After 15 games played, Sabah are fifth on 21 points from five wins, six draws and four losses while the Crocs are eighth on 16 points.
Only four points separate Sabah from second place, which is one of the two promotion spots, currently occupied by Felcra FC while Felda United FC are the runaway leaders on 36 points.
For the record, Ramos scored for Sabah against Sarawak in the first round meeting that ended 1-1, which also saw the Rhinos’ former South Korean import Lee Gil Hoon miss an injury time penalty kick.