LOST! LOST!!!!

Malaysia Cup Group B 24 Jun 2008

	Home	Score	Away
	Kuala Lumpur	3-2	Sabah
		Scorer
27'	Azwan	1-0
64'	Stanley	2-0
85'	Stanley	3-0
88'		3-1	Sylvester
90'		3-2	Radzi
	Penang	0-1	Kedah
	PDRM	0-0	Johor FC

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Rhinos hoping to field David against City Boys

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will be hoping to get its new signing David Njuko’s International Transfer Certificate (ITC) in time for the clash against Kuala Lumpur as they search for their first victory in the Malaysia Cup Group B challenge.

The Rhinos who were beaten 1-3 at home by Penang in the opener will now have to pick up the points on the road as they take on fellow Premier League outfit Kuala Lumpur at the Kuala Lumpur Football Association in Cheras tonight.

Although the Nigerian striker was not part of the traveling squad that left for the national capital yesterday, but he will take the earliest flight to Kuala Lumpur should his ITC arrive ahead of the clash.

Njuko, who last played for Warrior FC in the Liberian Premier League, has been roped in to replace the out-of-contract Georgian striker Kokhrei Dze Irakli.

“It is only a matter of getting his ITC before he could make his debut,” said Sabah FA Executive Secretary Harry Baking yesterday.

Harry hopes that the Rhinos will start to get their act right in order to put them back on the right track for a place in the next round.

“We just have to start getting the points or it will be too late,” Harry said.

“In this Cup competition there is little room for slip-ups. Furthermore, after this clash we have two tough matches coming,” he said, referring to Sabah’s date with two Super League outfits Johor FC and Kedah.

Sabah will play at home in both matches with the Southern club side being the first visitors (on Friday), while the date with Kedah has been slated for Monday.

Tonight, Sabah will again have to rely on Brazilian striker Andre Scotti Ossemer in attack with either Bobby Gonzales or Salvester Sindeh his possible partner.

In midfield, Mohd Nafuzi Zain should return to the first team. He is likely to orchestrate the engine room together with Zuraindey Jumai, Chow Chee Wing and Hisamuddin Othman.

At the backline, Mohd Munir Amran is also likely to start the game after being sidelined in the opener.

He will share the responsibility together with Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Dragic Dalibor, Ahmad Tharmini Saiban and Wong Sai Kong with Harold John likely to be retained as the number one ball stopper for the team.

Elsewhere on the night, Super League champions, Kedah, who bagged a double after being crowned the FA Cup champions on Saturday, take on Penang in an away battle while Police face Johor FC.

In the Group A challenge, Negeri Sembilan will host Terengganu while Selangor will take on Sarawak. The other Group A tie will see Kelantan pitted against Melaka.

Pahang will take on Perak in a Group C tie while Perlis versus UPB-MyTEAM and Armed Forces play Johor Pasir Gudang.

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RHINOS BEATEN

KOTA KINABALU: Half-hearted Rhinos went down 3-1 to Penang in the Malaysia Cup Group B opener at the Likas Stadium last night.

Despite taking the lead with Bobby Gonzales slotting home the opener after 10 minutes of play, the Rhinos were forced to end the night empty handed as gritty Penang deservedly walked out of the field as victors.

It was the visitors who had the first shot at goal when Mohd Farizal Rozali found space inside the penalty box, but only to find his second minute attempt cleared by Sabah custodian Harold John for a fruitless corner.

Then Sabah launched a counter attack and Zuraindey Jumai coolly fed Bobby with a throughball and Bobby did not disappoint his team-mates as his grounder shot from inside the box defeated the Penang keeper Mohd Faizal Mohd Yusof.

Four minutes later, Andre Scotti Ossemer could have extended the lead but unfortunately his close range header off a corner taken my Hisamuddin Othman bounced off the ground and went wide.

In the 16th minute Penang skipper Mat Saiful Mohammad put his side on level terms with a powerful grounder from the edge of the penalty box that deflected off Hardy Charles Parsi’s leg before it went into the back of the net defeating the hapless Harold.

Mohd Farizal could have put his side into the lead in the 21st minute, but again Harold was in his element as he palmed away Mohd Farizal’s attempt for a corner.

In the 31st minute, Penang finally took the lead when Suhaimi Ishak unleashed a powerful shot from inside the box that defeated Harold for the second time on the night.

It was a scrappy second half, but it was all over for the home side when Mat Saiful scored his second goal and third for his team with a beautifully taken free-kick from about 25 metres in the 73rd minute.

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Sabah Lost at Home

Malaysia Cup Group B 11 Jun 2008

	Home	Score	Away
	Sabah	1-3	Penang
		Scorer
10'	Bobby	1-0
16'		1-1	Saiful
30'		1-2	Shahrin
72'		1-3	Saiful
	Johor FC	3-1	Kuala Lumpur
	Kedah	1-1	PDRM

Sabah Lines-up

Harold John(GK), Dragic Dalibor, Ahmad Tharmini Saiban, Zuraindey Jumai, Hishamuddin Othman, Zainizam Marjan(C)(Azrul Ejati Damsah), Eddy Gapil(Chow Chee Weng), Hardy Charles Parsi(Mohd Farid Saibun), Wong Sai Kong, Andre Scotti, Bobby Gonzalez

Yellow card:Zuraidey Jumai, Wong Sai Kong, Azrul Ejati Damsah
-

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Rhinos begin M'sia Cup campaign today

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah kick off their Group B Malaysia Cup campaign today (Wednesday) when they host Super League side Penang at the Likas Stadium here at 8.15pm.

The Rhinos will surely want to make the best of start to their campaign and give fans something to cheer about following their dismal finish in the Premier League this season.

Having qualified for the semi-finals in the same competition last season, it remains to be seen if Sabah can once again go the same distance this season but judging from the company they have been drawn into in Group B, it will be an uphill task. Sabah have been drawn together with reigning champions Kedah, Police, which together with Penang are playing in the Super League and Premier League outfits Kuala Lumpur as well as Johor FC.

In this year's competition, 18 teams have been drawn into three groups consisting six teams per group.

Group A consist Selangor, Terangganu, Negri Sembilan Naza, Kelantan, Sarawak and Melaka while Group C are made up by Perak, Perlis, Pahang, Armed Forces (ATM), UPB-MyTea, and Johor Pasir Gudang.

The two top teams in each group will qualify for the quarterfinals together with the two best third-placed teams. The final of the Malaysia Cup has been scheduled for Aug 23 at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

Sabah first round fixtures will see them open their campaign at home against Penang (June 11), before travelling to Kuala Lumpur on June 24.

The Rhinos are then scheduled to play Police and Kedah on June 27 and June 30, respectively (both at home) before ending their first round fixture away against Johor FC on July 3.

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Rhinos out to make amends

KOTA KINABALU: The Rhinos are not willing to be seen as mere passengers when the Malaysia Cup kicks off on Wednesday.

Instead they are determined to make amends after a disappointing campaign in the just concluded Premier League.

However, Rahman Zakaria admits it is not going to be an easy battle especially when they have the likes of reigning champions Kedah in the Group B challenge.

The Rhinos’ team manager said Johor FC, Penang, Police and Kuala Lumpur will also not be easy opponents.

Nevertheless, he added they will surely try to do their level best and make their presence felt in the country’s oldest competition.

“It will be the same faces that will spearhead our challenge,” said Rahman, indicating that they are not signing any new players.

“There may be two or three players from the Reserve League that we might use for the Malaysia Cup, but their presence would be for exposure purposes.

“There is nothing wrong with the current players. We believe they can deliver. So now I really hope they prove that they are able to play and compete with the other teams in the competition,” said Rahman.

“We have several players who attended trials with the team during the break, but none really impress us. We also have a few foreign players attending trials, but the way I look at it, we may be sticking to the same players,” he said, referring to Bosnia-Herzegovina Dragic Dalibor, Brazilian Andre Scotti Ossemer and Georgian Kokhrei Dze Irakli.

To a question, Rahman said they have set a modest target for the team.

“I think we are not asking too much from the players. We are eyeing a place in the quarterfinals and would take it from there,” said Rahman, while calling for all out support from the fans in helping them realise their mission.

Sabah need to finish among the top two in the group in order to gain automatic entry into the quarterfinals.

They would also still march into the next round if they can finish among the best two third-placed teams in the three-group competition.

Sabah kick off their campaign by taking on Penang at the Likas Stadium.

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Malaysia Cup 2007/08 Group Stage

Date	VS	Result	Scorers	POS
11 Jun	Penang (H)	1-3	Bobby	6th
24 Jun	Kuala Lumpur (A)	2-3	Sylvester, Radzi	6th
27 Jun	Johor FC (H)	2-1	Hishamuddin, Sylvester	6th
30 Jun	Kedah (H)	3-3	Bobby, David, Wong	5th
03 Jul	PDRM (A)	3-4	Sylvester, David(2)	5th
06 Jul	Penang (A)	1-0	Sylvester	4th
09 Jul	Kuala Lumpur (H)	1-2	Zainizam	5th
12 Jul	Johor FC (A)	1-3	Bobby	5th
15 Jul	Kedah (A)	1-5	David	5th
02 Aug	PDRM (H)	0-1	-	5th

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