Juniors to shore up Rhinos
Published on: Friday, September 23, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: A heavily depleted Sabah Rhinos side will take on Pahang Kuantan FA in their second last Premier League match here at the Likas Stadium tonight (Friday) at 8.15pm.Four key players will be missing through suspension led by stalwart defender Igor Cerina, Indonesian import Dedi Kusnandar, Azzizon Nordin and Rawilson Batuil while strikers Leopold Alfonso and Muameer Salibasic are also out with injuries.According to coach Johnny Dominicus, the youngsters in the team are set to take over from the missing six.
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"Preparation is the same like before and the only setback is the absence of four first choice players because of suspension so there is a very strong possibility that the juniors in the team will take over."Although we are already safe from relegation and will remain in the Premier League next season, we will not take matters lightly tomorrow. A win and three points will put us level on points with Kuantan FA and the only difference between us is goal ratio."We will give our best shot and hopefully the players can maintain their unbeaten run in the last few matches and I also call on the fans to come and give their full support to the team."Sabah are currently in ninth position with 20 points while their opponents tonight whom they lost 1-4 in the first round are a place above them with 23 points. Meanwhile, Johnny said the present squad have the potential to go far if he is given the task to continue as coach next season.
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"Eighty percent of the players in the team are under 25-year-old. For me, only a few touch-up are needed in this team. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"And if all the present players are still with us next season then I am confident I can bring the team forward and achieve a better result than this year if given another chance."
