Kota Kinabalu: Sabah will be gunning for glory when they take on Malacca in the FA Cup first round match at the Likas Stadium on Tuesday.
The Rhinos who had a three-week break, are now raring to grab full points from the match. The winner will automatically qualify for second roundof the competition which will be played on a knock-out basis.
Team manager, Rahman Zakaria said the match against Malacca is very crucial. "A win is what matters the most. We cannot afford to lose as losing means we will be out of contention in the FA Cup."
"This is a new system introduced by FAM (Football Association Malaysia) and hopefully the players would give their best in the match,' he said on Monday.
Rahman said his charges have had enough rest over the last three weeks. "I can see that the players are raring to compete in the match," he said, adding, hopefully Sabah will come out as winner.
"We are playing on homeground and that is an advantage for us," he said.
On the Rhinos strategy, Rahman said chief coach Drago Mamic had already prepared the team.
"It is just a matter of the players putting it (plan) into action," he said, revealing, the coach had put the plan together during the break and it had been put into practice a few times.
He said the players would need to score an early goal to build confidence as they progress with the match.
"Our opponents are a good team but that doesn't mean we are going to give up easily," he stressed.
Sabah's probable line up: Jeevanathan A/L Gunasekaran (GK), Burhan Ajui, Ronny Harun, Ahmad Tharmini Saiban, Charles Obi, S. Sunder, Rosdin Wasli, Chow Chee Wing, Henry Soimpon, Henry Parsi and Paulus Shipanga.
