BE POSITIVE!

KOTA KINABALU: The Rhinos have been reminded to stay positive ahead of their clash against KL Plus FC in the Premier League challenge at the Selayang Municipal Council Stadium tonight.

Rahman Zakaria said they must go into the game with the right frame of mind in order to be able to give their best show in the game.

The Rhinos’ team manager added that they shouldn’t be demoralised following their back-to-back defeats in the previous games.

Instead, he said the players must take this game as an opportunity to show their character and prove that they can handle whatever pressure or circumstances they are facing.

“It is important for the team to have self-belief! They have to be confident and not think about past results. We have to look ahead and try to get the best possible result in the game,” said Rahman.

“We are all disappointed for what we have suffered in our last two games, but there is no point to cry over spilt milk. What is important now is for us to focus on this game and try to prove something.

“Our journey is still a long way to go and we shouldn’t get upset too easily. It is normal for a team to face what we are facing, but at the same time we must realise that this cannot go on.

“I hope the players have that fighting spirit within them and fight all out to get the points.

“Based on the Premier League standings, they (KL Plus FC) seem to be a good team, but that will not deter us from giving the best we can.

“In fact there is nothing for us to fear because we are playing in the same league. And as long as we can play to our true capability, I’m pretty sure we will get the points.

Sabah are likely to welcome back Englishman Jamie Phoenix for the game, but will miss defender Mohd Munir Amran, who will be serving a two-match automatic suspension after getting a straight red card in the 2-0 defeat by Kuala Muda Naza on Monday.

Other matches tonight will see Kuala Muda Naza taking on Harimau Muda (National Under-19) in Alor Setar, while PKNS will entertain Shahzan Muda in Petaling Jaya.

Felda United FC will face Melaka in Cheras, while the league leaders will take on Proton FC in Larkin with the final match of the night – Kelantan playing host to Armed Forces in Kota Baru.

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DOWN BUT NOT OUT

KOTA KINABALU: Rahman Zakaria insists Sabah may be down, but not out!

He said that the duration of the League is still a long way to go and that anything can happen between now until the end of the season.

“It’s still early days. There are another 18 matches to go, so I really hope the fans will not count us out (of the race for the Premier League crown) just yet,” the Rhinos’ team manager said.

Sabah succumbed to their second straight defeat on Monday after losing 2-0 to the visiting Kuala Muda Naza at the Tawau Sports Complex, which was their first home defeat of the season.

Kelantan inflicted Sabah with their first defeat last week after losing 2-1 in an away battle.

But Rahman believes nothing is over as far as the Rhinos’ challenge is concerned.

“I firmly believe that this team have what it takes to bounce back,” Rahman said of the Rhinos’ two defeats in the space of four days.

“What is important for us is to recover quickly (from our back-to-back defeats). Once we do that, then I think we will be there challenging for the crown,” he added.

Rahman admitted it has been a tough four days for the Rhinos.

“Having to travel so much in between and playing two matches I think it really affected the players.

“You see on (last) Thursday, we traveled to Kota Baru, Kelantan and played a game on Friday. We returned home on Saturday and on Sunday we travelled again to Tawau for the Kuala Muda clash.

“I’m not looking for excuses, but we have to understand that the traveling that we have had is taking its toll on the players.

“We just could not find a day to have a nice rest after a long journey. Anyway, I still believe that the boys will not give up so easily because they know pretty well that this is their rice bowl,” said Rahman.

Against Kuala Muda Naza, Rahman said they had enough chances to take the game into their own hands, but they were so unfortunate not to take the lead despite having numerous goal-scoring chances, including a penalty miss.

“Last night (Monday), there was nothing wrong with our tactics or game plan. We were just unlucky not to convert the chances that we had.

“If we managed to convert one of those chances into a goal, or convert the penalty, I think the game could have been different altogether,” said Rahman, referring to Nafuzi Zain’s penalty miss.

“In any game … if you don’t take your chances well … such is the consequence you are faced with,” Rahman added, while admitting they certainly need a prolific goal-scorer.

With these two results, Rahman hopes that the players realise that there is no place for complacency.

“I want them to realise that we have to produce the results and show consistency not only in our games, but also results.

At the same time, Rahman also thanked the Tawau fans for the support they have shown to the team.

“On behalf of the team, I would like to express our sincere thanks to the fans because they have shown undivided support to the team. Even when we were down, they still rallied behind us, which is very touching. I’m very disappointed that we could not win the game for them,” said Rahman.

Jose Antonio Vega turned hero for the visiting Kuala Muda Naza by netting a brace. He netted the opener in the 73rd minute before adding the second four minutes later.

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SABAH drop to 5th

Standing after 15 Feb 08 matches

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	KL Plus FC	11	9	1	1	25	5	20	28
2	Kuala Muda Naza FC	12	9	0	3	21	12	9	27
3	Johor Pasir Gudang	11	8	2	1	24	9	15	26
4	Kelantan	10	6	4	0	22	11	11	22
5	Sabah	11	6	2	3	19	10	9	20
6	Harimau Muda	11	5	1	5	16	16	0	16
7	Felda United FC	11	4	3	4	11	11	0	15
8	PKNS FC	10	3	2	5	14	14	0	11
9	Proton FC	11	3	1	7	15	26	-11	10
10	Kuala Lumpur	11	2	3	6	15	20	-5	9
11	Melaka	11	2	0	9	11	23	-12	6
12	Shahzan Muda FC	11	1	3	7	9	24	-15	6
13	ATM	11	2	0	9	11	32	-21	6
Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts

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FIRST HOME DEFEAT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah succumbed to their first home defeat of the season after they were blanked 2-0 by Kuala Muda Naza in a Premier League challenge at the Tawau Sports Complex last night.

Jose Antonio Vega was the hero for the visitors by netting a brace in the space of five minutes. He struck the opener in the 73rd minute with a well executed long range shot from about 25 metres. He then added the second four minutes later, but this time from a superbly taken free-kick which flashed past the hapless young Sabah custodian Irwan Jamil.

Kuala Muda Naza was awarded the free-kick after Munir Amran committed a reckless foul on their player. Munir was shown a straight card for the offence. Earlier on, Sabah wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty kick. However, Nafuzi Zain’s 70th minute spot kick was saved by the Kuala Muda custodian Azizon Kadir.

This was Sabah’s second straight defeat. Last week they lost 2-1 to Kelantan.

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FIRST DEFEAT IN TAWAU!

Premier League matches, 14 JAN 2008
*(-) position before matches

Home	Score	Away
SABAH (4)	0 - 2	Kuala Muda (2)
Shahzan Muda (11)	0 - 2	Plus FC (3)
Melaka (13)	2 - 1	PKNS (12)
ATM (10)	2 - 3	Johor (1)
Proton FC (7)	1 - 0	Kuala Lumpur (5)
Harimau Muda (8)	1 - 2	Kelantan (6)

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RED CARD THE REF!

KOTA KINABALU: Rahman Zakaria blamed unprofessional and biased refereeing as the main factors that contributed to the Rhinos’ first defeat of the season.

The Rhinos’ team manager said it was so obvious that the man in black had denied them of at least a point from the game.

Rahman claimed that right after they took the lead, the referee’s decisions were all against them.

“Things improved slightly after Kelantan scored the equaliser.

“We are not looking for excuses, but my conclusion is we did not lose the game … it was the referee who took the game away from us as he played a major role in our defeat.


“His biasness was so glaring that one just cannot afford to keep quiet and allow him to keep repeating such unprofessional refereeing in the future.

“Personally, I don’t think he deserves to officiate any matches in the Premier League any longer in the future,” Rahman fumed after seeing his side go down 2-1 to Kelantan at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru on Friday.

“He made it just impossible for us to play our game. In short, he killed our rhythm,” Rahman pointed out, adding that they are contemplating on making an official report to the FA of Malaysia.

Sabah took the lead through Bobby Gonzales as earlier as the first minute of the game. The goal was dubbed as the fastest thus far in the Premier League as he slotted home only after 25 seconds of play.

“Such referees do not belong in the League. It only downgrades the League. I’m sure if any team(s) that suffered this kind of biasness would feel the same way we do. I’m not saying that all referees are biased, but in this particular case the match official was (is) unfit to officiate Premier League matches. We have no complaints on the linesmen, as they did their job well.

“I hope the FA of Malaysia will look into this seriously because we know there are some good referees around in the League.

“It is also our humble call for them (FAM) to get rid of the rotten apples for the betterment of the development of football in the country.

Mouhamdau Mustapa scored the equaliser for Kelantan in the 62nd minute before the Senegalese netted the winner five minutes from time.

On the Rhinos’ decline in the competition, Rahman said he was upset and disappointed with the results, but there was not much they could do when they are faced with this kind of refereeing.

Nevertheless, Rahman said they will look into all aspects of the game in reviving the Rhinos’ performances in the competition.

Prior to the defeat Sabah started the new season aggressively by chalking up victories in the opening two games – 4-0 and 4-1 against Armed Forces and Proton FC respectively, before getting two draws – against Kuala Lumpur and Johor Pasir Gudang (both with 1-1 scorelines).

“There is no point to look back because we cannot change the results. So now what is important is for us to look ahead.

“We have an important game on Monday (against Kuala Muda Naza), and it is important for us not to slip any more points any longer,” said Rahman.

The defeat saw the Rhinos drop to fourth in the 13-team standings, five points behind leaders Johor Pasir, who lead the pack with 13 points in their bag.

Kuala Muda Naza occupy the second spot on 12 points, followed by KL Plus FC on 10.

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TRIO FOR TRIALS

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah FA is expecting at least three foreign strikers to attend trials with the team next week. In fact one – Ossemer Andre – has already arrived in the State Capital.

Ossemer – a Brazilian-Italian striker last played for a second division outfit in Holland. The FA Executive Secretary Harry Baking said that they are also expecting a Cameroonian to attend trials with the team. “He is expected to arrive here tomorrow (today),” said Harry.

On the unknown Cameroonian, Harry said he last played for Rangers FC in Hong Kong. Harry also revealed that they are also waiting for confirmation on the arrival of Namibian striker Ruben Arthur Van Wyk.

“We contacted his agent and he expressed his desire to come to attend trials. But at the moment, we have yet to receive any details on his arrival,” said Harry, referring to Namibian international Ruben, capped 47 times and who scored 12 goals for his country.

The Sabah FA is still looking for their third foreign signing after hiring Dragic Dalibor of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Englishman Jamie Phoenix. However, Jamie has been sidelined due to injury, but looks set to make a return in Sabah’s next game.

Meanwhile, the State Reserve League squad succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Kuala Muda Naza in the President’s Cup challenge in an away battle on Thursday.

Despite having the experience of player-coach Henry Soimpon in their side, the junior Rhinos failed to stop the marauding club side from chalking up their first home win.

In the opener, the junior Rhinos were held to a scoreless draw by Perak last week.

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