KOTA KINABALU: Sabah still stand a chance of finishing their season in third place in the Premier League.
Despite being held to a one-all draw by the newly crowned champions Police, the Rhinos are only two points behind third-placed Selangor PKNS – the team they will meet in their final fixture on July 31.
The Rhinos must win the tie and hope that fourth-placed Johor Pasir Gudang fumble at the hands of Shahzan Muda.
If that’s the case, Sabah will end their season behind Super League bound Police and UPB-MyTEAM.
After the one-all draw against Police on Tuesday, Sabah accumulated a total of 27 points, level with Johor PG, who are ahead on better goal average.
Selangor PKNS stay in third on 29 points, while Police lead the standings on 44 points, followed by UPB-MyTEAM (38).
“It was not a result that we wanted, but then again one point is better than nothing. We are now still in the race for the third spot and hopefully things will go our way in our final game,” said Rahman Zakaria.
“It is not always easy to play against a team who are newly crowned champions and in front of their fans, but I’m glad to see that our players did the best they could.
“We were without several players due to national team commitment, but those players playing on the night did a good job.
“It was a well balanced affair though. Even after they scored the equaliser, we still had enough chances to win the game, but unfortunately none of those chances found the net,” the Rhinos’ team manager added.
Bobby Gonzalez opened accounts for Sabah in the 40th minute before Michael Barasa equalised for Police in the 65th minute.
