Coach wary of wounded Cops
Published on: Friday, February 09, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: There is a very good chance for Sabah Rhinos to bounce back against Police in the third round Premier League match at the Likas Stadium tonight (Friday) at 8.15pm.The team only managed a 1-1 draw with Felcra in their second round match on Tuesday, and with Police having suffered a 2-6 loss to Felda on the same night, Sabah look good to get all three points especially after they thrashed Terengganu II 4-0 here on the opening day.However, head coach Jelius Ating (pic) is still cautious and warned his players to guard against complacency.ADVERTISEMENT "Our target is of course to win especially at home. What I would like to see is consistency from the players. Police may have lost 2-6 in their last match and it may give us the confidence to do well, but at the same time we are also aware that our opponents may also try to bounce back and give us a hard time."So my players need to be cautious and not to be over confident especially after the Felcra match where we did not play as well as we did in the opening match."For me the result does not reflect the true picture of a game. My players must always be ready and play their very best in every match."ADVERTISEMENT He said there may not be any changes in the players' line-up for the match tonight."There are unlikely to be any changes but because we have just returned on Wednesday and with tiredness resulting from the travel, the players may not have enough rest, so a final decision will only be made after the final training session."
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Meanwhile, Jelius also disclosed that they may try to sign a foreign defender before the registration deadline closes this week."We definitely need to beef up our defence. So far we are doing rather well with our all-local back four and have only conceded once after two matches.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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"But against Felcra, our defence struggled to cope with their tall import. Our midfield had to back them up and as a result, they looked a bit disjointed with tired legs, and unable to play their normal game. "At the moment Igor Cerina is still not fit enough to play. We need to make a decision and hopefully with the help of the management we can get a player as soon as possible."