Sabah not a two-man team: Coach
Published on: Wednesday, June 19, 2019
By: GL Oh
KOTA KINABALU: Jelius Ating stressed that Sabah are not a one or two-man team as he plots another Premier League win for the Tambadaus against Police at Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka tonight (Wednesday).
The coach who will be without skipper Rawilson Batuil for the match due to suspension may face further setback as tough tackling midfielder Azizzan Nordin may not be able to start the match due to injury as well.
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With their opponents currently on scoring form with 10 goals in four matches, Sabah will need to be on their toes and the absence of these two players will make it hard to maintain their four-match clean sheet.
“Azizzan picked up an injury during the win over Negeri Sembilan on Saturday. It was not serious and he was rested and did not train yesterday.
“We will see how his condition is tomorrow. If he is not fit enough to start, then we will try to play him in the second half,” he said on Tuesday.
However, Jelius is positive that the players on the bench who are called upon are good enough to carry out the task.
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“I want to stress that Sabah are not a one or two-man team. Losing Rawilson is not really good news for the team but we had played matches without him in the past this season, so I don’t think it is that much of an issue.
“We also have good enough players on the bench. They could not be featured in the past because they did not have the opportunity and now that there are openings for them, I hope they will show us what they are capable off,” he added.
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He also disclosed that veteran player Mafry Balang is most likely to replace Rawilson tonight.
“Mafry may start the match in place of Rawilson tomorrow night, while Ricco (Nigel Milus) will play if Azizzan is not available.
“There may also be another change in the first 11 with Randy Baruh replacing Dendy Lowa at right back. He was supposed to start against Negeri Sembilan but suffered from stomach upset just before the match, so we have to see whether he is fully recovered and fit to play.”
He admitted that it will not be an easy match and called on his players to play better than they did against Negeri Sembilan.
“Our target is to win all three points over there, but it won’t be easy as Police are a much improved side and doing well in recent matches.
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