FAR FROM OVER

KOTA KINABALU: The Rhinos are not willing to bow out to the Northern Lions when they meet in the return leg of the FA Cup quarter-finals in Kangar tonight.

Instead, they have pledged to go all out to claim a place in the semi-finals of the competition they last won in 1995.

The Rhinos are ready to slog it out with last year’s losing finalists, at least according to their team manager Rahman Zakaria.

He insists that the battle is far from over despite the fact that the Northern Lions are holding the home-ground advantage.

Besides that, they are also enjoying the away goals rule, following the first leg result that ended in a two-all draw.

“There is another 90 minutes to play, so we are not willing to surrender the semi-final ticket without a fight.

“In fact it is still an open contest and we know we are still pretty much in it,” he said.

Rahman said that even though Perlis may be holding the upper hand, it will not deter them from giving their best shot in the match.

“I’m not going to make any promises, but we are going to Kangar not looking for a draw. We will certainly try to win the game.

“This is definitely going to be a tough one for the team, but we are ready and prepared and we have nothing to fear.

“In fact we have nothing to lose, so obviously the players will be playing without any pressure. The only thing that we want them to do is to play their hearts out and play as a team. And if they can do that, then I dare to say that our chances are 50-50.

“I think the team that makes fewer mistakes would make it into the semi-finals,” he added. The first leg ended two-all despite the fact that Sabah were leading 2-0 at half time, only to concede two late goals that saw the match eventually end in a draw.

Sabah only need a simple win to cruise into the last four, but if the match ends in a three-all draw or higher, then they would be in the semis as well on the away goals rule.

As for Perlis a scoreless or one-all draw will see them through.

But if the match ended in a two-all draw then it will proceed into extra time or even penalty kicks.

This will be Sabah’s fourth consecutive away match, which started off with a Premier League tie against Kelantan that ended in a one-all draw, followed by the shock 1-2 defeat to KL Plus FC, also a Premier League team.

Then they edged Police 4-3 to book a quarter-final ticket in the prestigious Malaysia Cup challenge.

Like what Rahman says, this could be a fruitful outing for the Rhinos in Kangar if they play to their true strength and as a big team.

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RHINOS ON TRACK

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s season is still pretty much alive and kicking!

Despite the fact that they only hold a mathematical chance of making it to top flight football next season, but at least the Rhinos are still in the race for honours in the elusive Malaysia Cup challenge.

On Saturday, the Rhinos emerged as one of the eight quarter-finalists for the oldest and most prestigious Malaysia Cup after the completion of the three-group preliminary round stages.

The Rhinos qualified for the knockout stage by virtue of being among the two best third placed teams along with Terengganu from Group B.

Sabah finished behind Kedah and Perak in Group C, while Selangor and Perlis made it through the Group A and NS NAZA topped the Group B while Melaka finished in second followed by Terengganu.

While not having the best of campaigns in the Premier League, Sabah’s Malaysia Cup challenge has been quite convincing and they are also still in the FA Cup competition, although thing looks a lot tougher for them in the competition.

They need to get the better of last year’s finalists Perlis in order to advance through into the semi-finals.

The first leg of the FA Cup ended in a two-all draw. Despite the fact that Sabah had taken a two-goal lead, Perlis fought back and scored two goals inside the last five minutes or so.

Although they only needed a draw against Police in their final game, but the Rhinos have proven that their entry into the last eight was no fluke.

Instead their 4-3 victory over the Premier League runaway leaders is just an indication that they are genuine contenders for the Malaysia Cup crown.

But before that, they have to clear their first hurdle where NS NAZA await them in the quarters.

The quarter-finals fixtures have been slated for August.

“We were aware that a draw would have been enough, but we wanted to underline our determination by getting a victory.

“We achieved that and we are in the quarter-finals, and obviously we are happy with the result.

“The fact that we are the only non Super League team in the last eight shows that we do belong to the elite group,” Rahman Zakaria said.

However, it was quite a night for the Rhinos as the scoreline suggests.

Despite taking a two-goal lead courtesy of Charles Obi’s 36th minute strike and Chow Chee Weng’s 68th minute effort, the Rhinos allowed Police to battle back and score three goals to eventually take the lead.

However, Obi was on target again, but this time he netted his second on the night from the spot to put Sabah on level terms, before Salvester Sindeh turned hero for his side by netting the winner one minute from regulation time.

But while happy with the result, Rahman is not at all impressed with the team’s overall performance.

“It was supposed to be an easy night after we took a two-goal lead. But we took things easy after taking the lead which allowed Police to fight back. We must try to stop things like this from happening, because on some days we might be punished. We will look into it and try to improve in future matches.

“Hopefully we will be able to lift our game in the next match,” he added, referring to the second leg FA Cup quarterfinal tie against Perlis in Kangar on May 29.

Meanwhile, Rahman sang his praises of the youthful Rhinos’ squad for their showing thus far in the Malaysian League, especially in the Malaysia Cup and FA Cup.

While the Rhinos face a mammoth task in securing promotion to the Super League, Rahman said: “Let us not forget that no one gave Sabah much hope at the start of the season following our poor campaign since 2005. But we proved them wrong with an improved performance and results this year under the guidance of head coach Drago Mamic, apart from the players’ determination.”

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A POINT WILL DO

KOTA KINABALU: A draw is all what the Rhinos need to qualify for the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals when they take on out of contention Police in their final Group C game at the MPS Stadium in Selayang tonight. Despite the seemingly simplest of tasks, Rahman Zakaria was quick to point out that they are not taking any chances and that they won’t take their opponents lightly.

“We are not there yet. So there is no reason for us to take this match lightly,” said the Rhinos’ team manager. “We will need to give our best and play our hearts out to try and win the game even though a draw should be good enough to send us into the next round. “It has been a disappointing trip for us thus far because we have dropped valuable points in the Premier League challenge. But then again, this is a Malaysia Cup challenge, and it is a totally different ball game.

“So I hope the players stay focused and try to continue Sabah’s fine momentum in this Cup campaign. “They know what they must do to progress and I hope they will do a good job tomorrow,” Rahman added. At the same time, Rahman also called on the men in black to be more consistent in their decisions.

Rahman felt that the below par refereeing was among the factors that denied them from collecting maximum points in their last two League games. “It was so obvious that the referees made questionable decisions against us in the last two matches. The referees tend to award fouls too easily on our players. In this game, I hope the referee will be more fair and consistent.

According to Rahman, what really irked him was when one of the referees in their last match uttered what can be described as racist remarks against Sabah’s Nigerian hitman Charles Obi.

Rahman said Obi told him that this particular referee was alleged to have said to Obi: “This is Malaysia and it is better you go back to your country.” He added that they are considering lodging an official complaint to the FA of Malaysia regarding the matter. The Malaysia Cup is the only trophy missing from the Rhinos’ cabinet and Rahman believes that this could be their year. But first, he said they must overcome this final group hurdle before they could think of something greater.

For the record, Sabah edged Police 2-1 at the same venue in the first round. Kedah, who have already cemented their quarterfinal berth, will take on Perak, who like Sabah need one point to confirm their quarterfinal tickets. Perak and Sabah have 15 points but the Rhinos sit on third place with an inferior goal difference while Kedah have 19 points. The other teams who have booked their quarterfinal berths are Selangor from Group A, Negeri Sembilan Naza and Terengganu from Group B. The eight quarterfinal places will be filled by the top two teams in each group as well as the two highest ranked third placed teams.

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Worrying signs as Rhinos continue winless streak

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's 1-2 away loss to KL Plus FC in the Premier League on Tuesday saw them remain third in the standings.

The loss was Sabah's third in their league campaign and now have 25 points from six wins and seven draws scoring 22 goals and conceding 15. In the match against KL Plus, Sylvester Sindih scored the only goal for the visitors.

However, the Rhinos are now 12 points behind league leaders PDRM who narrowly beat Kuala Muda Naza 1-0 also on Tuesday while UPB-MyTeam remain second on 32 points.

After three consecutive draws against Kuala Muda, Kelantan (both in the Premier League) and Perlis (FA Cup), it was hoped that the team would bounce back and at least return home with a point, but it was not to be.

The players may be burnt-out from playing too many games in a short period of time with the match against KL Plus FC being Sabah's sixth this month alone.

The form they are in at the moment will definitely raise concerns among fans as to whether the team has got what it takes to be promoted to the Super League next season.

Goals from Charles Obi seems to be drying up and this could be attributed to the team's over-dependency on the Nigerian. It may be time for coach Drago Mamic to drill the other players in target practice, lessening the burden on Obi, who is the second highest goal scorer in the league with 11 goals.

Sabah's next match will be in the Malaysia Cup where they will face PDRM for a slot in the quarterfinals.

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MATHEMATICAL CHANCE

KOTA KINABALU: The Rhinos’ hopes of promotion now hangs by a thread after the shocking 1-2 defeat at lowly KL Plus FC on Tuesday. And the loss in fact may end their quest to taste Super League action next season.

Although mathematically still in the race, things are looking difficult for Drago Mamic and his boys especially with their current form. They merely managed to pick up two points from a possible nine from their last three outings.

The Police are virtually promoted and this means that there is only one berth left. Sabah and UPB-MyTEAM are fighting for this lone spot and the latter surely has the upper hand over their Borneo rival.

With four matches left, Sabah need to win all their remaining matches, Johor Pasir Gudang, Shahzan Muda, Police and Selangor PKNS. Mamic must also hope that UPB-MyTEAM will lose twice and draw once against Kuala Muda Naza, Kelantan, Johor PG and Police.

The Police are comfortable on top of the 11-team standings on 37 points, five ahead of second-placed UPB-MyTEAM (32) while Sabah is in third on 25.

On top of that, Police hold a one-match advantage over both UPB-MyTEAM and Sabah, thus making them the hot favourite to lift the Premier League crown.

Police need only a point to see Super League action while UPB-MyTEAM need four more points to kill off whatever hopes there is left for Sabah.

The way things are at the moment, it will be another year for the Rhinos in the Premier League. It is sad to say that they have themselves to blame for the entire predicament they are in now. They really had the chances to make it into the top two by now. They however failed to take those chances. They kept dropping point after precious point as the League progressed.

The Rhinos might have tried their best, but their best may not be good enough for promotion.

It was an unlucky 13 for the Rhinos, as they succumbed to their first defeat after 13 matches in the League. In fact they have not lost a match since the shock 1-0 home defeat to Armed Forces on January 5. Ever since that loss, the Rhinos won six matches, another six draws before suffering the recent defeat to KL Plus.

Unless the Rhinos gain full points against un-fancied teams like KL Plus or Shahzan Muda to name a few, they may spend life in the Premier League a little longer.

But while Sabah’s Premier League challenge is about to end, they are still in the race for a place in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Cup. They only need a draw when they take on Police in a Group C match this coming Tuesday. They then will travel to the north by taking on Perlis in a win or bust tie in the FA Cup quarter-finals return leg. The Rhinos drew 2-2 in the first round.

In the KL Plus FC match; the Rhinos squandered a one-goal lead before bowing out to the club side. After a scoreless first half, Salvester Sindeh drew first blood for the Rhinos in the 50th minute.

However, KL Plus managed to score the equaliser 20 minutes later.

With 10 minutes remaining in regulation time, Sabah suffered a set back when its striker Prince Ativie Guy was given the marching orders for a second bookable offence. Minutes later KL Plus capitalised on this by netting the winner.

This loss may have ended Sabah’s chance to join the big boys in the Super League.

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LAST CHANCE SALOON

KOTA KINABALU: It will be win or bust when the Rhinos continue their challenge on the road in the ongoing Malaysian League campaign.

In fact it will be a massive three consecutive away matches for them starting with their Premier League clash against KL PLUS FC at the KLFA Stadium tonight.

This is a game that the Rhinos must win at all costs in order to keep their flagging hopes alive. Anything less than three points from this game will see all signs pointing to the Rhinos playing in the Premier League for the third consecutive season.

Mathematically, the Rhinos are still in the race for the two promotion slots to the Super League next season.

They are currently trailing UPB-MyTEAM who occupy the last promotion spot, by seven points.

For the record, Police are leading the pack in the 11-team Premier League on 34 points. They have a two-game advantage over UPB-MyTEAM, who occupy the second spot on 32 points, while Sabah are third on 25 points.

But with UPB-MyTEAM not playing tonight, this will be an opportunity for Police to extend their lead at the top of the table and for the case of Sabah this is their chance to close the gap.

“We know where we stand and all I can say now is our fight will go on until the end,” said team manager Rahman Zakaria.

“When you look at our results, it has been quite good. For instance in the Premier League, we are looking to extend our unbeaten run to 12 matches. It is so unfortunate that we could not win the matches that we could have won. I guess, luck was just not with us, although I would not take that as an excuse.

“Hopefully tomorrow, we will do better and win the game so that the race will go on … hopefully everything will be decided on the final day of the league,” said Rahman.

After the KL PLUS FC clash, the Rhinos will take on Police in a Malaysia Cup Group C tie at the MPS Stadium in Selayang on Saturday.

Unlike the KL PLUS FC clash, a draw would do for the Rhinos in the final group fixtures, which would mean they would secure a quarterfinal berth via the two best third teams in the three-group competition.

But a victory over Police could see Sabah finish second in the group should table-toppers Kedah get the better of or hold second placed Perak to a draw.

After the Malaysia Cup date, the Rhinos travel north to take on Perlis in the FA Cup quarter-finals return leg tie at the Main Stadium in Kangar.

The first leg saw the Rhinos squander a two-goal lead by allowing Perlis to score two goals in the last four minutes of the game.

But despite that, the Rhinos have a clear-cut mission. They just need a simple win to make it into the semi-finals.

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Rhinos need a miracle

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s hopes of clinching one of the two promotion slots to the Super League next season are slowly fading away after squandering yet another opportunity of closing the gap with the top teams on Friday.

The two drawn matches in their last two outings, including Friday’s draw against Kelantan at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru, has now left them with nothing but a miracle to make it into the top flight of Malaysian football.

A victory over Kelantan could have helped them close the gap on second-placed UPB-MyTEAM, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Kuala Lumpur in another Premier League tie at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras.

Instead, the Rhinos failed in their mission in Kota Baru as they merely returned home with one point … meaning it remain as status quo as far as the points’ gap between them and UPB-MyTEAM, who are occupying the last promotion slot.

Despite the fact that their promotion hopes are no longer in their own hands, Rahman Zakaria is not giving up hope just yet, insisting that they will solider on.

“We are not giving any promises, but we will certainly give our utmost best in our quest for promotion,” the Rhinos’ team manager said.

“We are still in the race, but with a tricky path ahead of us,” he admitted. “We need to win our remaining games and hope results elsewhere will favour us,” added Rahman.

Police, who chalked up their 11th win of the season after edging Armed Forces 3-1 at the MPS Stadium in Selayang, are comfortably leading the standings on 34 points, and look certain to claim one of the promotion slots, especially with them holding a two-game advantage over UPB-MyTEAM and one-game advantage over Sabah.

UPB-MyTEAM are second on 32 followed by Sabah on 25 points.

“Now it seems that we will be fighting for the one slot with UPB-MyTEAM because Police are quite far ahead of us.

“As UPB-MyTEAM will not be playing this coming Tuesday, it is important that we take our chances against KL Plus FC away,” Rahman said.

“A victory will certainly motivate the players to take the challenge to try and stay unbeaten in our remaining fixtures. Hopefully this will put UPB-MyTEAM under pressure to lose points along the way,” said Rahman, while expressing his confidence in head coach Drago Mamic’s vast experience.

Commenting on the Kelantan clash, Rahman said that it was a game that they could have won with better or rather fairer refereeing.

He said that there were several questionable decisions against Sabah.

In the game, Kelantan took the lead in the 54th minute through Luciano Ignacio Olier, but Prince Ativie Guy scored the equaliser for Sabah five minutes from time.

But prior to Prince Ativie’s equaliser, Sabah had a good penalty appeal turned down by the referee after Azrul Ejati Damsah was brought down inside the Kelantan penalty box.

“The linesman had flagged for a foul on Azrul,” said Rahman. “But instead of pointing to the spot, the referee booked him for no reason.

“It was a clear penalty, but we could do nothing as it was the referee who had the final say,” said Rahman, adding that there were so many decisions against Sabah that eventually affected the rhythm of their game.

Rahman also said that Sabah will be based in Peninsula Malaysia until the second leg of the FAM quarter-final tie against Perlis on May 29.

However, prior to the win or bust clash, Sabah will have a date against KL Plus FC in a Premier League tie on May 22 before taking on Police four days later in their final Group C Malaysia Cup challenge at the MPS Stadium where they need a draw to cruise into the quarter-finals.

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