Rhinos played their hearts out: Coach
Published on: Sunday, September 11, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Johnny Dominicus still hailed the players despite Sabah Rhinos' late collapse allowing DRB Hicom to snatch a 2-2 draw at the Proton Stadium on Friday.They were on course to clinch all three points after defender Igor Cerina had given them a 2-1 lead in the 83rd minute following an earlier equaliser by Dedi Kusnandar in the 51st minute.But they paid the price when the players never cleared their lines from a late corner conceded deep into injury time which the home side's import player Kim Jim Ryong grabbed the opportunity to score.ADVERTISEMENT "I was of course very disappointed because we were on the verge of getting full points. The goal was only conceded three minutes into injury time but that is football."All the players played their hearts out and although we only managed a point, it was still better than none as they said a point earned in the opposition's ground is still considered a bonus," he said on Saturday.He also cited the pitch condition and the afternoon kick-off for their poor start.ADVERTISEMENT They conceded a penalty inside the 3rd minute which was saved by goalkeeper Rozaimie Rohim before the home side finally took the lead in the 40th minute with a free-kick taken by Ivan Babic."The players played well in the second half as compared to the first. We were a bit shaky in the opening 45 minutes.
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It may be because the poor condition of the pitch and furthermore, the hot weather in the afternoon match was not too kind to the players as well."Of course I am not looking for an excuse but it was definitely one of the factors that affected the players' performance," he added.With the one point earned, the team are now safe from relegation with two matches to spare following ATM's 1-0 loss to PKNS on Friday.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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ATM who are second from bottom have gathered only 12 points from 20 matches and are unable to overtake Sabah Rhinos who have 20 points with only six points available.The Rhinos' final two matches at home are against Kuantan on September 23 and UiTM on October 21.