Gempa Bumi dan tsunami di pantai timur Jepun 11 March 2011 -

Pada pukul 2:46 petang (1:46 Waktu Malaysia).
Satu gempa bumi berukuran 8.9 Magnitude menggegarkan pantai timur Jepun (Kawasan Miyagi).
Gempa bumi telah menyebabkan tsunami setinggi 10 m.




Penduduk di kawasan pantai dinasihatkan untuk menjauhi kawasan pantai.
Menurut sumber, tsunami ini adalah yang terburuk dalam jangka masa lebih 100 tahun.

Tsunami ini adalah lebih buruk daripada Great Kanto Earthquake 1923 (Magnitud 7.9) yang telah mengorbankan 142,800 nyawa.

Setakat ini jumlah mangsa masih dalam siasatan.

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はじめまして- Salam Perkenalan

Konnichiwa;

コンニチハ；

Mulai saat ini, aku akan start blogging balik lepas rehat for almost 2 years.
Before ni buat blog pasal my favourite football team.
SABAH FA!!!!
tapi mulai tahun ni, aku mau buat pasal Japan, Sabah FA, Tawau, ekonomi dan macam macam.

Yoroshiku！
よろしく！

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Rhinos confident of victory in return leg

Kota Kinabalu: Rhinos' Team Manager Rahman Zakaria said his boys are all set and ready to take on Kuala Lumpur in their return-leg FA Cup match at Likas Stadium here, tonight (Tuesday).

He said the players have spent the last few days training and preparing for the return leg and that a win should be in store as playing on home soil gives them a natural advantage over the visiting KL team.

"The players are ready for the clash. They've prepared well for this match and are all ready. They would be playing in front of home supporters so they have nothing to fear," said Rahman.

Rahman believes that his squad of young talents and several experienced players would likely be the eventual victors as the Rhinos are coming into the game with an away goal advantage, needing only a goalless draw to advance to the next round.

Nonetheless, Rahman is taking nothing for granted and has urged his squad to go all out for the win.

"A one-all draw in last week's first leg match has given us an away goal advantage. If it ends in a goalless draw, we will go through. If it is a repeat of last week's score, we will play extra time. But I've told the boys to go all out for the win and that is what we hope to achieve," he said.

When asked for his thoughts on last week's game, Rahman said, "the referee robbed us".

He said the referee failed to show equal leniency when he showed the yellow card to four Rhino players but then kept it hidden when the home players committed bookable offences.

"I can understand how my players must have felt. It's not easy to play when you encounter a referee like that. It affected our momentum for the game.

We probably would have done better," said Rahman.

He knows that what happened in KL had affected his players' morale but hopes they would forget the incident and focus purely on tonight's match.

Rahman hopes the home supporters would turn up for the fixture to cheer the Rhinos, as home support is crucial for any team.

"We have a great chance to advance given the away goal that we have and the confidence the players would have playing at home.

"I hope the supporters would come and watch the match and cheer us on.

They are a very important factor to the team."

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Second round target

KOTA KINABALU: Coach Wathiq Naji Jasim is expected to make tactical changes as he plots to show Kuala Lumpur the exit in the second leg of the first round of the FA Cup competition.

The Iraqi is confident with the right approach they will be able to humble their opponents who scored a late equaliser in the first leg encounter that ended in a one-all draw.

But for the return leg at the Likas Stadium tonight, the Rhinos head coach is not willing to give the visitors any room to gain any advantage for the remaining 90 minutes.

In the first leg, they were seconds away from victory after a 46th minute strike from Azrul Ejati Damsah put them into the lead.

However, Azwan Malek denied them the victory with a pile-driver shot from about 30 metres deep in injury time.

Tonight, Wathiq is likely to introduce lanky defender Henry Parsi and flanker Mohd Farid Saibun for the first time this season.

Zainizam Marjan and Gasili Pangalot are likely to make way for the duo as Azrul once again is expected to start from the bench.

And Wathiq seems to have picked the right man at least in the case of Henry Parsi, who has vowed to nail his place in the first team.

“I will not want to waste this opportunity. I will try and do my best to make an impression,” said the Sipitang-born defender.

However, Henry, who had a short stint with the national Under-23 side and was part of the side that went for the friendly game in Slovakia sometime last year, may not play in his favoruite position at right back.

Henry, 23, is likely to play the defensive role in midfield alongside Rezuan Khan Aman.

In the absence of team captain Zainizam Marjan, Wong Sai Kong is set to skipper the side that has the simplest of tasks in cruising into the second round.

A scoreless draw would see them through based on the away goal ruling while a one-all draw will see the match go into extra time. A draw with a bigger scoreline will show Kuala Lumpur the way into the next round.

Glancing at Henry’s playing background he made his Sabah debut with the Under-19 squad before jumping ship and playing for Labuan Reserve League the following year.

However in 2005, he made a return to Sabah and played for the Reserve League side before gaining entry into the senior side in 2006 together with his youngster sibling Hardy Charles Parsi, who is now a regular face at the Rhinos’ backline.

And like Henry, Hardy, 21, is also vowing to keep his place in the first team.

“I just want to play week in and week out. I just love playing and I’m willing to work hard for it,” Hardy said.

Like his elder sibling Henry, Hardy also had a stint with the national side. He was part of the national Under-20 squad.

He has the experience of playing against the Manchester United Under-19 squad that Malaysia beat in a friendly about a year ago.

However, injury denied Hardy of making the final squad.

“That was my most memorable memory thus far in my career. I was then in the first team,” he said of the friendly game against Manchester United Under-19 squad.

Tonight, the two siblings are ready to fight until the end and help Sabah book a place in the second round.

Goalkeeper Harold John is also expected to start the game as first choice custodian Irwan Jamil is down with a groin injury.

Wong, Mohd Fariss Azlan Mat Isa, Mafry Balang, Selyvister Saini, Billyton Vun Ket Ming and Alto Linus are all set to feature in the first team squad.

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Video KL vs Sabah: 1-1

credit: bolatoday.com

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Advantage Rhinos

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah now hold a slight advantage of making it into the next round in the FA Cup competition after holding Kuala Lumpur to a one-all draw in the first leg of the first round encounter at the Kuala Lumpur Football Association Stadium in Cheras on Saturday.

The homeground advantage and the away goal rule indeed make them the favourites to march on.

The second leg will take place at the Likas Stadium on February 3.

Team manager Rahman Zakaria is also optimistic that his charges can claim the second round ticket on Tuesday.

On Saturday, Sabah, the 1995 FA Cup winners, were only seconds away from victory before Azwan Malek scored the equaliser for Kuala Lumpur deep inside injury time.

Flanker Azrul Ejati Damsah(pictured) broke the deadlock in the first minute of the second half after picking up a pass from striker Zainizam Marjan.

He dribbled past a defender before finding the back of the net with a cool strike.

Rahman was not too pleased with Kuala Lumpur’s late equaliser by claiming it had exceeded the added time.

He went on to say that the referee should have blown the final whistle when the added time was up.

He was also unhappy with the way the referee handled the match, especially after seeing four of his players yellow carded while not even one Kuala Lumpur was booked.

“The action from the referee affected the momentum of our players.

“Although I am a bit disappointed for not being able to win despite the fact that we were so close to victory, but then again we scored and have the away goal advantage.

“The way I see it we have the chance to progress … the opportunity is there for us in the next game,” said Rahman.

In the game, Sabah also lost first-choice custodian Irwan Jamil who suffered a groin injury.

The youngster was replaced by Harold John at the start of the second half.

But overall, Rahman said: “The players played alright. We need to improve on our combination and understanding in midfield though.”

“Kuala Lumpur dominated the area but the players worked hard … we will be ready for the return leg,” he added

Meanwhile, four teams are almost certain of making it to the second round with Sarawak leading the pack after thrashing the Armed Forces 6-1, Kelantan edged Johor 4-0, Perlis blanked Johor MBJB 4-0, while Perak beat SDM Kepala Batas 4-1.

The other first leg results saw UPB MyTeam win 2-1 against Proton FC, Felda United beat Police 2-1, T-Team won 1-0 against Shahzan Muda, Penang won 1-0 over Johor FC, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka drew 0-0 and Pahang held Selangor PKNS 1-1.

Four other teams Kedah, Selangor, Terengganu and Kuala Muda Naza received a first round bye.

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Kuala Lumpur - Sabah 1-1 Draw

Liga Premier 2nd Match 12 Jan 09

	Home	Score	Away
	Kuala Lumpur FA	1-1	Sabah
		Scorer
		0-1	Azrul Ejati	46'
89'	Azwan Malek	1-1
		Other Matches
	Harimau Muda	2-0	Plus FC
	Kelantan FA	4-0	Johor FA
	Proton FC	1-2	My Team FC
	MBJB FC	0-4	Perlis FA
	PDRM	1-2	Felda United FC
	Negeri Sembilan FA	0-0	Melaka FA
	Pahang FA	1-1	PKNS FC
	Perak FA	4-1	SDM FC
	Sarawak FA	6-1	ATM
	T Team FC	1-0	Shahzan Muda FC
	Pulau Pinang FA	1-0	Johor FC

Sabah Lines-up+used sub

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Goalie saves the day

KOTA KINABALU: Ovinnis Ozawa Joachim saved the day for the junior Rhinos as they were held to a one-all draw by Kelantan in a President’s Cup match at the Likas Stadium yesterday.

The young custodian made numerous brilliant saves to help his side collect a point in a match that could have gone either way with better finishing.

The junior Rhinos were trailing 1-0 after 58 minutes of play, but were presented with a gifted equaliser in the 68th minute after a Kelantan player scored an own goal.

Team manager Alijus Haji Sipil was satisfied with the result, saying that his charges did their best despite not being able to parade their best squad.

“We are happy with our overall performance considering that Kelantan is one of the favourites. They were the champions (Youth Cup – U-19) last year, and basically they are having the same team.

“Furthermore, we could not parade our strongest squad due to injuries, while both Leopold (Alphonso Otong) and Selyvister (Saini) were called into the senior side.

“But we have no complaints because their absence has given the opportunity to the other players to show their worth. It is a good thing that we can utilise all the players that we have.

“When you look at the game, it was an equally contested tie with both sides having equal chances at each other’s goalmouths.

“At the end of the day, I would say that it was a fair result for both sides,” Alijus said.

Sabah had the better of the first quarter in the game as they dominated but could not create any chances.

Knowing that he was outplayed, Kelantan coach Kamarudin Mohd Nor made a tactical change by bringing in midfielder Mohd Ailim Fahmi Kamaruddin for Muhd Firdaus Mat in the 20th minute.

It worked wonders as from then on it was a well balanced affair.

In fact, it was Mohd Ailim who had the first chance of the half when in the 27th minute he unleashed a long range effort that was palmed away for a fruitless corner by the steady Ovinnis.

Towards the end of the first half, Sabah squandered their only chance of the half as Zenelter Dangku shot wide from close range.

There was more action in the second half as both sides exchanged attacks at each other’s half.

However, it was Kelantan who broke the deadlock when Mohd Alim curled the ball past Ovinnis from the edge of the box to give his side the lead.

However, it took Sabah 10 minutes to put things on level terms when striker Tarajan Amil’s cross from the left side deflected off Ally Imran Samarkhan’s head and went into his own net.

Later on, Ovinnis denied Kelantan from scoring at least twice including efforts from Wan Zaharulnizam Wan Zakaria and Muhammad Afham Zulkifli.

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Juniors hammer Kepala Batas

KOTA KINABALU: The junior Rhinos went on the rampage as they annihilated SDM Kepala Batas by registering a 7-0 victory in a President’s Cup match played at the Kepala Batas Sports Complex field yesterday.

Selyvister Saini(pictured) grabbed a hat-trick while Tarajan Amil netted a brace with the remaining two goals scored by Leopold Alphonso Otong and Fandi Linik respectively.

But despite the big scoreline, the junior Rhinos’ head coach Rozlee Idris is still not satisfied, citing that it could have been more.

“We missed four or five more goal-scoring chances, and I’m not really happy with the misses because, without disrespect to our opponents, this team (SDM) is not really organised or well prepared.

“So we shouldn’t have wasted the opportunity because you never know at the end of the day this goal average could decide our position in the League.

“Next time around when we meet them again, we must not waste the opportunities,” said Rozlee.

But having said that, Rozlee was happy to see the team register their first away win of the season after failing in their first attempt – losing 1-0 to Johor FC in the opener.

Rozlee also congratulated hat-trick hero Selyvister for having a good game.

“He played much better than in our last game. But I’m a bit disappointed to see that Leopold was not up to his game. That’s why after the break, I brought in Tarajan to replace him.”

Rozlee was forced to make a last-minute change to his first team after both skipper Calaste Aping and Mc Barry Jaz Matin did not make the trip.

Calaste was down with a groin injury aggravated during training, while Mc Barry had something personal to sort out.

Mohd Siraj Munir and Zenelter Dangku started in place of Calaste and Mc Barry.

Rozlee’s decision to start two Premier League-based players – Leopold and Selyvister – in the attack seemed to work its wonders as the duo helped them to take a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.

Leopold, who inspired the squad to a 2-0 home victory over UPB-MyTEAM in their last game, drew first blood for his side by netting the opener just after six minutes of play.

Then Selyvister extended the lead two minutes later before adding his second and third for his team, at the half hour mark.

After the break, second-half substitute Tarajan added more salt into the wounds of SDM by striking the fourth goal in the 63rd minute before Selyvister completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute.

But the junior Rhinos were not finished just yet as Fandi also put his name on the scoresheet with his 67th minute effort before Tarajan netted his second in injury time.

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No changes to squad

KOTA KINABALU: The junior Rhinos’ head coach Rozlee Idris will be sticking to his winning side in search for their first away victory, taking on President’s Cup newcomers SDM Kepala Batas of Penang today.

He said that if there are any changes it would be on the tactical or technical aspect of the game as the squad that chalked up their first win last Sunday deserves to be retained!

“They have done considerably well, and there is no reason to change a winning side,” Rozlee said, referring to their 2-0 victory over UPB-MyTEAM of Perak.

Last time around on the road, they went down 1-0 to Johor FC in their opening game of the season.

But this time, Rozlee hopes his charges will be able to return home with at least one point.

“Unlike in home matches where we play more offensively, but in an away game, we have to be more defensive minded.

“However, it doesn’t mean that we will go into the battle to just settle for a draw because the main priority is to go for a win.

“But if we cannot achieve that then we must try to avoid defeat,” he said.

With Rozlee sticking to his winning side, that means, both Leopold Alphonso Otong and Selyvister Saini will be around to give the team the much needed boost.

The duo who featured for the senior side, played a crucial role in their victory over UPM-MyTEAM, especially Leopold, who set up the first goal and scored the second.

The 18-member squad left for the clash yesterday.

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Wathiq’s way

KOTA KINABALU: Wathiq Naji Jasim sees suspension and injury to key players as the main factors that could wreck the Rhinos’ season in the 2009 Premier League challenge.

But the Rhinos’ Head Coach is aware that it is beyond his control and that it could happen to any other team in the league.

He said these factors will haunt any coach or team in the world, who does not have enough experienced players in the team.

Although Wathiq is happy to see the development of the team since he took over the hot seat succeeding Croatian coach Drago Mamic about two months ago or so, he is fully aware of what lies ahead for his rather new-look squad.

The Iraqi was forced to start from scratch following the mass exodus of first-team players at the end of last season.

The FA of Malaysia’s decision to do away with the foreign players does not help him at all as he was left with less than five first-team players from last season’s squad.

Until today, Wathiq, 69, still refused to really talk about the strengths and weaknesses of his new-look side as he prefers to look ahead and prepare the team to the best of his capabilities.

And despite being handed with the mammoth task with so many shortcomings surrounding the team, Wathiq has no complaints, and has opted to work with the existing players that he has.

With over 40 years of experience, Wathiq knows exactly what he is doing and planning for the team.

“This is not the toughest or the most difficult job I have ever had,” Wathiq said.

“This is a new team with a lot of inexperienced players. But we are slowly building the team from scratch.

“It is not an easy job, but I believe we will slowly achieve our objective. Now, I’m building the team … starting from the defence to the strike-force because having a new team is different compared to having a team that has been together for a long time.

“Now I build the team’s foundation from the defence. At the same time I also want to make sure that the team’s morale is always high. In order to do that, I must try to make sure that we are picking up points in all our matches, because when the team’s morale is down, is not easy to motivate them.

“That is what I’m doing now … trying to make sure that if we cannot win a match, we must not lose too.

“Up to now, we have succeeded in our plans, but I’m afraid after five or six games, cards and injuries could affect the performances of the team and players are bound to get injured or suspended. Insya Allah it will not happen to our team,” said Wathiq.

“We also need more time to correct some aspects of our game such as set pieces, throw-in corners and so on.

He said that the FAM’s decision to play two games a week also affects their training as players need time to recover.

“That is why in my training, I want to create a balance as we need an acceptable fitness level among the players.

But Wathiq is happy to note that his charges have started to slowly understand how he wants them to play the game.

“We haven’t got any super stars in the squad. So we have to teach them how they should play in certain departments. We also explain to them what it means … ball possession so that they will be more confident when they have the ball.”

Among the seniors left in the squad are Rosdin Wasli, Zainizam Marjan, Wong Sai Kong and Julamri Muhammad.

The signing of Mohd Fariss Azlan Mat Isa and the return of several ex-State players such as Rezuan Khan Aman, Billyton Vun Ket Ming, Gasili Pangalot and Mafry Balang to name a few has helped prevent Wathiq from having more headaches in building the squad.

For the record, the Rhinos kicked off their challenge with a 2-0 win over Premier League newcomers SDM Kepala Batas of Penang before being held to a stalemate by Proton FC in the second game.

Now the league is currently taking a break and would resume on February 9.

However, the team will be involved in the FA Cup first round campaign where they will be travelling to Kuala Lumpur for the first leg tie on January 31 before playing the return leg at the Likas Stadium on February 3.

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Leopold inspires junior Rhinos to first victory

KOTA KINABALU: Leopold Alphonso Otong inspired the junior Rhinos to their first victory in the President’s Cup challenge by defeating Perak UPB-MyTEAM 2-0 at the Likas Stadium yesterday.

The teenager, who is featuring for the senior side, set up the first goal before scoring the second late in the game.

Leopold, 18, was only recalled to strengthen the State Under-20 side as the Premier League is currently taking a break.

And he did not disappoint the team as it was him who made the difference with his bursting run from the right of midfield that resulted in both goals.

And it was only about 10 days ago, Leopold, who hails from Tamparuli but now residing in Inanam, made his Premier League debut with a goal by scoring the opener in the 2-0 win over SDM Kepala Batas.

And yesterday, he repeated his scoring act in his maiden match for the junior Rhinos.

Head coach Rozlee Idris was delighted with the victory and praised the players for a job well done.

He, however, said that there is plenty of room for improvement especially in the tactical aspects of the game.

“They tried really hard and I’m happy to see they managed to win this game. It was an equally contested tie and much tougher than our first game,” Rozlee said, referring to their first match against Johor FC where they went down 1-0 in an away battle last Thursday.

“Overall, I’m happy with the way we approached the game. As you can see, physically they were much bigger than us, but we managed to overcome them.

“However, there is still plenty of room for improvement and we will look into the things that need to be improved ahead of our next game.

On Leopold’s contribution, Rozlee said: “Leopold played well, but he could have done better if he trains with us. Maybe next time, we will call him to train with us for two or three days ahead of our next match.”

He also hoped that Leopold and Selyvister Saini will also be part of the team that would travel to Penang next Wednesday.

Yesterday, the junior Rhinos drew first blood on the stroke of half time through Ibrahim Abu Nawas who had the simplest of tasks by tapping in a low drive from Leopold.

Earlier on, Selyvister, who is one of the three Under-20 players playing for the senior side, had the best of chances to put the junior Rhinos ahead in the 13th minute when he had the keeper to beat.

Unfortunately, the nippy player failed to convert his chance after his attempt was blocked by the keeper.

After the break, it was still a 50-50 game until Leopold scored the second with a cool finish two minutes from time.

The visitors had the chance to score the consolation, but Muhd Fakrul Aiman shot straight to Sabah custodian Ovinnis Ozawa Joachim from close range.

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Nothing less than victory will do today!

KOTA KINABALU: The junior Rhinos will settle for nothing less than victory when they take on UPB-MyTEAM of Perak in a President’s Cup challenge at the Likas Stadium today.

They are determined to make a quick rebound following their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Johor FC in the opener at the Jcorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang three days ago.

And the inclusion of two Premier League-based players – Leopold Alphonso Otong and Selyvister Saini would surely give the team a lift or rather a boost for this home tie that is scheduled to kick off at 4.15pm.

Both Leopold and Selyvister featured for the senior team, but the Premier League is currently taking a break and would only resume on January 31 with the first round of the FA Cup where Sabah will be playing away to Kuala Lumpur in the first leg. The return leg is on February 3.

Teenager Leopold, who turns 18 on June 9, made his maiden debut for the senior squad with a goal in the 2-0 victory over SDM Kepala Batas of Penang at the Likas Stadium about 10 days ago.

He also had a good game after coming in for Selyvister in the second half against Proton FC on Monday.

Junior Rhinos’ head coach Rozlee Idris believes the presence of the duo would surely strengthen the team.

When met at their light training at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex Field B in Likas yesterday, he went on to say that they are going all out for victory.

“We have no reason not to do well playing at our home venue,” said Rozlee.

Furthermore, he added, they could not afford to slip any points away from any home game if they are to realise their target of lifting the crown.

“Even though it is still early days, but we must try to win all our home matches starting from tomorrow (today).

“Unless we are having injury or suspension to our key players, I don’t see any reason for us not to play well at home and win the game.

“If it is an away game, I can understand because away games have always been pretty unpredictable. “There are several circumstances such as jetlag and tiredness due to long travelling hours that could affect our performances,” he added.

Rozlee also hinted that he is likely to stick to the same line-up against Johor FC with the exception that Mohd Siraj Munir will make way for Selyvister in the attack while Leopold will replace Mohamad RD Osman on the right of midfield.

Selyvister will be pairing McBarry Jaz Matin in the attack while skipper Calaste Aping and Delson John would orchestrate the midfield department with Ibrahim Abu Nawas on the left of midfield.

Rozlee’s four-man defence comprises, Fandi Linik, Shafie Jaim, Mohd Hanafie Unus and Nelbandly @ Mohd Nor. Ovinnis Ozawa Joachim is his first choice keeper.

Mohamad RD Osman, Mohd Siraj Munir, Zenelter Dangu, Faddley Lunsing, Mohd Ahzuan Khan, Tarajan Amil and goalkeeper Jaidi Umbong will be on the bench.

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Sabah squad in high spirits

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah men’s Futsal squad will have an awesome task in the National Felda Futsal League 2008/2009 to be held at Felda Trolak in Perak which starts today.

The squad left for the championship early yesterday morning with only one thing in mind, that is to be crowned as champs this Sunday.

But before they can do that, they will have the likes of the Police, Selangor, Pahang, KL Figos and Kuala Lumpur as red hot contenders!

The six teams, including Sabah, emerged as champions of their respective groups before qualifying for the tournament proper.

They will be pitted against each other in a round robin format. The top two teams will play in the final to decide the winner.

The triumphant team will walk away with a handsome RM40,000 in prize money, in addition to the RM10,000 for being champions of their respective group.

The runners up will pocket RM20,000, the third and fourth placed teams will receive RM10,000 and RM5000 respectively.

Police marched into the final round after topping Group A while Selangor, Pahang, KL Figos, Kuala Lumpur and Sabah won Group B, C, D, E and F respectively.

The Sabah squad did brilliantly in the group stage and they go into the final round with an unbeaten record. The mood and spirit in the team naturally are sky-high following their success in qualifying into the final round.

Team manager Alijus Hj Sipil, who is a cautious man, reminded the players to put a brake on their celebrations, stating that the battle is not over yet.

“I can understand the players’ feeling after qualifying for the final round, but now we have to focus on the final round.

“Our target is not just to qualify for the final round, but in winning the Cup for the people of Sabah,” said Alijus at a dinner he hosted for the players on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, head coach Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah said the squad is ready and in tip top condition for the tricky road ahead.

“Our preparations have been better despite two days of training only. Nevertheless, we have managed to use this short period to zero in on certain aspects of the game,” said Asyraaf.

Sabah face Police in the opener scheduled for 10am today before playing their second game against favourites KL Figos at 8pm.

On the second day (Saturday) they have three games; Selangor at 2pm and Penangat at 8pm.

They round up their fixtures on Sunday by taking on Pahang at 11am. The final is scheduled for 4pm the same day.

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Rozlee: One objective, one challenge

KOTA KINABALU: The State Reserve League squad finally kick start their President’s Cup 2009 challenge with an away game against Johor FC.

They will take on the Southern club side at the Jcorp Stadium in Pasir Gudang tonight.

The squad, under the watchful eyes of coach Rozlee Bin Idris assisted by Janus Bin Tioon were initially supposed to kick start their season last week against Shahzan Muda of Pahang.

But the game was put off after Shahzan Muda appealed for a postponement, that was eventually granted by the FA of Malaysia. Shahzan Muda cited their failure to get air tickets as grounds of their appeal.

For this new season, Rozlee, who was promoted from the Under-19 squad, has set his sights on winning the championship, as he attempts to repeat Awang Sabtu Jamil’s feat of guiding his squad to lift the crown for the first time since they won it about ten years ago.

However the tournament was an Under-21 showcase, and then was reverted to Under-23 and for this season an Under-20 tournament.

“We believe that with quality in the team, it is possible for us to realise our target. I will be pressing the players to focus on our objective,” Rozlee said in an interview with the New Sabah Times Sports recently.

“The majority of our players are from our youth squad 2008 (Under-19) and basically they have been together for quite a while. So I think are they are now well prepared to mount the challenges ahead,” he added.

At the same time, Rozlee also said that he will be focusing on team work rather than individuals in realising their dream.

“What I want to create for the team is to be like a one big and strong family without self interest. I don’t want to have stars in the team, everyone will have equal status and every one will work towards the same objective.

“We have several new faces, and a back up squad and they have adapted nicely into the squad.

“Basically the rest of the teams are also using their Under-19 players from last season, so we more or less know their strengths,” he said.

Sabah have been drawn in Group B alongside PKNS FC, Proton FC, Kuala Lumpur, Felda United, Shahzan Muda, Johor FC, UPB-MyTEAM, Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, MBJB FC Johor, Melaka and SDM Kepala Batas Penang.

The team left for Johor yesterday with a strong-18 member squad comprising Jaidi Umbong, Shafie Jaim, Faddley Lunsing, Fandi Linik, Nelbandly @ Mohd Nor, Ibrahim Abu Nawas, Calaste Aping, Delson John, Mc Barry Jaz Matin, Gergesle Jumat, Zenelter Dangku, Tarajan Amil, Mohammad Hanafie Unus, Mohd Ahzuan Khan, Mohd Siraj Munir Juri, Mohammad RD Osman, Ovinnis Ozawa Joachim and Muis Mursalam.

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Video: Proton vs Sabah :0-0

credit to: http://www.bolatoday.com/

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Rhinos bag valuable away point

Kota Kinabalu: A goalless draw against Proton FC, in their away game at the MBPJ Stadium in Selangor, Monday, gave the Rhinos a valuable point to add to their tally in their bid for glory in this season's Premier League battle.

Rhinos Manager Rahman Zakaria, said that though he was less than impressed with the performance from his team, he was glad that they at least got a point from the match.

"We didn't play very well in this fixture. We lacked creativity and momentum from the first game to actually play convincing enough to win.

But I was happy with a few good performances from some of the players.

"Our keeper did well to keep the ball out from several close range efforts.

In the end we managed to walk away with a point and I'm quite happy with that. A point is better than none," said Rahman.

Rahman spoke proudly when commenting about his squad, saying that he has a good pool of talented players, though admitting that many are still very young and raw in terms of experience.

However, he feels that they would be able to develop better understanding and would improve in their game as they continue to progress through their match schedule.

"I think we have a good team. We have several experienced players and we also have some exciting talents in our younger players. I think playing one or two more games would give them the opportunity to click and develop better understanding on the pitch. This will improve their performance as a team," said Rahman.

A point meant the Rhinos, on four points, stayed near the top of the standings in third spot behind Harimau Muda and T-Team, who both had comfortable wins in their away fixtures against SDM FC and ATM respectively.

With a good home performance against SDM Kepala Batas last Friday and a satisfactory end in Monday's fixture, Rahman will expect nothing less from his boys when they take on Kuala Lumpur in an away opening fixture of the FA Cup on Jan 31.

For Rahman, the FA Cup is just as important as the league and doing well in both competitions is important to his team.

As former champions and three-time runners up, the Rhinos are expected to seize their chance this year to win back the Cup.

"I hope the players would take this opportunity to do their best to win the fixture so we can have a good advantage during the return leg on Feb 3.

"Sabah was the champion in 1995 and was runner up three times in 93, 94 and 98. I hope the players would take this opportunity to move forward and try their best to progress in this competition," said Rahman.

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Rhinos must go the extra mile!

KOTA KINABALU: Rahman Zakaria said the Rhinos must go the “extra mile” if they harbour any hope of doing well in the Premier League.

He believes that only by doing so they can be a step ahead of their rivals.

“With no foreign players in the M-League scene, I think all teams are almost equal in strength. So in order for us to be ahead of the rest, we need to work extra hard. And with a relatively new-look outfit, we certainly need to work and work extra hard,” the Rhinos’ team manager said.

“Furthermore, success is all down to hard work,” he added.

“As long as the players are willing to do it, which I believe they will, I’m very sure we will be there up for the challenge.

Another thing, Rahman pointed out was that the team must also try to be consistent.

The Rhinos played their first away tie of the season on Monday, and Rahman had mixed feelings after seeing the Rhinos settle for a 0-0 stalemate against Proton FC at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras.

While relieved to see the Rhinos manage to return home with a point, he was a little disappointed that his side failed to play up to expectations.

“I don’t think we played our best football in the game.

“When you are not playing your best game and collect a point, you have no complaints (of getting a point).

“But then again, you cannot be satisfied with what the team has achieved because we could have done better if we played to our best ability.

“I’m not happy with our overall performance because we can certainly play better than this.

“Inconsistency has been our problem in the past, so now I want the players to realise that they will not go any further if they cannot be consistent!

“It is still early in the season and I don’t want this yo-yo performance to continue.

“We need to wake up and start or at least try to be consistent,” Rahman said.

But Rahman does not want to take away the credit from players who played well on the night.

Among them are goalkeeper Irwan Jamil, teenager Leopold Alphonso, Hardy Charles Paris, Mohd Fariss Azlan Mat Isa and Zainizam Marjan to name a few.

“Irwan was excellent. He saved numerous sure-goal chances, including two one-on-one attempts from the Proton FC players. He was surely our man of the match on the night,” said Rahman.

He was also impressed with Leopold, stating that the teenager is a gifted player.

“I think he was born to be a footballer. Despite his inexperience, he adapted pretty well to life in the Premier League,” said Rahman.

Rahman said there are also players who performed below par.

“I think they know who they are and I hope they will improve. This is football and we understand we cannot expect players to play their best all the time, but what I want to see is for them not to stop trying even though it was not their night because the team needs people to stand up and fight for each other and be counted as men.”

The Premier League is taking about a month’s break before it resumes on February 9 where Sabah is scheduled to take on newcomers MBJB FC of Johor at the Likas Stadium.

And the Rhinos’ Head Coach Wathiq Naji Jasim has about three weeks or so to fine tune his side as Sabah will be involved in the first round of the FA Cup challenge taking on Kuala Lumpur on January 31 in an away battle while the return leg has been set for February 3.

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Premier League Standing

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Proton FC vs Sabah :0-0 Draw

Liga Premier 2nd Match 12 Jan 09

	Home	Score	Away
	Proton FC	0-0	Sabah
		Scorer
		Other Matches
	ATM	0-4	T-Team
	Felda United	1-2	Johor FA
	MBJB	0-1	Kuala Lumpur FA
	Shahzan Muda	1-1	Sarawak FA
	Sinar Dimaja	0-2	Harimau Muda
	Melaka FA	Postponed	PKNS FC

Sabah Lines-up+used sub

Irwan Jamil, Mohd Fariss, Wong Sai Kong, Mafry Balang, Hardy Charles Parsi, Redzuan Aman Khan, Zulamri Muhammad, Leopold Alphonso, Gasilin Pangalot, Alto Jinus, Zainizam Marjan, Salvester Saini, Mohd Radzi Hussin, Hamidin Amat

Yellow Card:Mafry Balang ,Fariss Azlan Mat Isa

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