Sabah not going to throw in the towel — Jelius
Sabah face an uphill challenge to keep their Malaysia Cup hopes alive as they go head-to-head against Pahang in their second round fixtures tomorrow.
To be played at the Darul Makmur Stadium, the Tambadaus know well anything less than a victory against the current Group C leaders could spell the end of their campaign in the country’s most prestigious football competition.
Sabah are the only team still without a single point in the group after losing in their opening three matches while Pahang are top on nine points followed by Perak and Penang on four points each.
That leaves Sabah with only a slim chance of progressing into the quarterfinals.
Head coach Jelius Ating admitted the tough task facing the team but he refused to raise the white flag.
“As long as we still stand a chance (to qualify), we will make every effort to fight for it,” he vowed during training here yesterday.
“We have three games to play and it means nine points are still up for grabs. If we can win all the matches and other results work in our favour, who knows we may be able to move on to the next round.
“What’s important is that we will be fully ready when we take on Pahang. It will not be easy but not impossible (to win) either.
“If Pahang can win in our home ground (Likas Stadium), why can’t we do the same to them in their own backyard.
“It will be tough, no doubt about it, but as the saying goes, anything can happen in football...we have to believe in ourselves,” he added.
Jelius went to say that Sabah must not make the same mistakes that led to their first round 1-2 defeat here last Saturday, where they were poor in the first half before returning strongly in the second period.
“When I said we have to be fully ready, I was pointing to the fact that we need to perform better on the field.
“I hope the players will be able to play their best,” he said while saying that with better finishing, the first round meeting could have a different outcome.
Meanwhile, Jelius said utility player Mafry Balang could start ahead of Jenius Karib against Pahang as the coach looked to add steely presence in the middle of the park.
“We’ll see how it turns out in training (yesterday). If all goes well then we will make the change...if not we will stick with Jenius.
“There will not be major changes to the starting eleven,” he said.
Jelius went on to say that Maxsius would miss the match as he would be serving an automatic one-match suspension after picking up his third yellow card last week.