Rhinos squander two-goal lead against Kuantan FC
Published on: Friday, May 26, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: The Rhinos squandered a two-goal lead and allowed Kuantan FC to snatch an injury time equaliser during the 3-3 draw in their Premier League clash at the Kuantan Stadium Darul Makmur, Wednesday night.The team were on verge of winning their fourth match of the season when Malik Mat Arif was allowed to complete his hattrick two minutes into injury time.The signing of Koreans Lee Gil-hoon and Heo Jaenyeong by the Rhinos seemed to work on the team's appalling scoring ability as they snatched the lead within six minutes on the clock through Maxsius Musa.ADVERTISEMENT The home team who were a place above Sabah struck back in the 28th minute with Malik's first goal of the night before skipper Leopold Alfonso restored the lead right before first half whistle.Lee then opened his account with a penalty in the 48th minute, before Malik reduced the deficit in the 67th minute.Head coach Jelius Ating blamed the lack of focus that resulted in the late draw."The team need to be more compact with a two- goal lead but instead the players started to lose possession unnecessary which resulted in the second and third goal.ADVERTISEMENT "It wasn't entirely the fault of the back four. All the players must learn to work together to help each other in defending, and if they had that we would have came back with all three points," he said.However, he was very pleased with the input of the two newly signed Koreans.
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"As expected, they played really well and I am happy with their input, especially on guiding the young players in the team."He said the team will return on Friday and resume training on Monday."We cannot afford to take a long break. Furthermore, we need to access the foreign players who are coming for trial.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"We are still looking for a striker who can hold the ball and scores. With the open window set to close soon, we need to find one fast."And we may also need to find replacement for Igor (Cerina) who will be out for the season," he added. - GL Oh