Afternoon games for Sabah

New Straits Times

The Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium is one of the stadiums that failed to meet the specification on flood lighting for the new M-League season.

FIVE Super League teams – Terengganu, T-Team, Sabah,  Kuala Lumpur and  Felda United – will  begin their campaigns in the 2012  season, which starts on Jan 10, in the afternoon.

The FA of Malaysia (FAM) made the decision yesterday after the home venues of these teams either failed to meet the specifications for flood lighting or pitch condition for the M-League.

According to regulation, flood lighting must have a minimum illumination reading of 800 lux.
The concerned venues are the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium (Kuala Terengganu) and  Likas Stadium while the KLFA Stadium, the home venue of KL, is closed for repairs. KL will play their home matches at the Hang Jebat Stadium.

Other stadiums, which failed to meet the requirements for  lighting were the City Stadium, Batu Kawan Stadium (Penang), Selayang Stadium (KL), Hang Tuah Stadium and the Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca).

Ollerenshaw ‘make ways’

Harian Metro Online

BEKAS pemain import yang pernah mencipta nama bersama Sabah, Scott Ollerenshaw bersedia membantu mana-mana pemain Malaysia yang ingin mencuba nasib bersama kelab Liga Australia (Liga A).

Katanya, pemain tempatan perlu berani melebarkan sayap ke peringkat lebih tinggi dan bukan hanya menunggu tawaran datang terhidang.

“Saya bukanlah ejen pemain tapi saya bersedia membantu pemain Malaysia yang mempunyai kesungguhan mencari tempat bermain di Liga A. Saya mempunyai hubungan baik dengan pihak pengurusan beberapa kelab di Australia, jadi bukan menjadi masalah untuk saya membantu pemain Malaysia menjalani ujian percubaan.

“Saya cuma boleh membantu bukannya menjamin tempat mereka bersama kelab, selebihnya terpulang kepada pemain sendiri membuktikan kemampuan mereka,” katanya yang ditemui Arena Metro ketika siri jelajah skuad Olimpik negara di Sydney, baru-baru ini.

“Ketika ini saya lihat, pemain Malaysia hanya cenderung menjalani ujian percubaan dengan kelab mempunyai kepentingan rakyat Malaysia, kenapa tidak berusaha untuk pergi ke kelab lain seperti yang dilakukan pemain import yang datang bermain di Malaysia.” Ketika beraksi dalam kancah Liga Malaysia, kelibat Ollerenshaw, 43, cukup digeruni di depan gawang sehingga berjaya meraih trofi kasut emas sebanyak dua kali sewaktu bersama Sabah pada 1994-1998.

Give your full commitment in training, players told

Daily Express

Published on: Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Kota Kinabalu: The President Cup players for the new season have been urged to give their full commitment in their training session.

Coach Johnny Dominicus told the players on Tuesday that he expects the players to give one hundred percent effort in order for the team to make an impact in the competition, which will start on Jan 26.

He said discipline is of utmost importance for the young players and warned that any players whom he or any of the officials find that have failed to produce their best may face the axe.

He reminded the players that only 18 players would get to travel with the team for the competition and hopes that will drive them to train even harder in a competitive way to make the squad.

He told Express Sports after their training session at the Likas Sports Complex lake jogging track that the State FA is allowed to review the position of their players 30 days after the first match.

"We may drop any players during the period and this is good as it will put the players on their toes and not taking their position in the squad for granted."

Meanwhile, three players who had played for other teams in the President Cup competition last season have all reported for duty.

Two of them have three years of experience with goalkeeper Nik Yus Saiddatul Sofien B. Yusup from Labuan who played for Sime Darby team last season and two years for Felda United previously.

While fellow islander Razid B. Gaffar who is a centre back, having plied his trade at KL Plus for one year and for the past two years with the Kuala Lumpur team.

The other is Tawau born Mohd Izdihar Qaedi Bin Jidi.

The 17 -year-old right back who had just completed his SPM examination played for Bukit Jalil Sports School last season.

The trio were seen joining the other players in their second day of training and they were given some light strength training followed by some footwork and agility training in the afternoon.

The team will be given their first taste of competitive match against UMS in a friendly match at the UMS stadium tonight at 7.30pm.

Goal drought worries Sabah coach

Borneo Post Online

CLOSE ENCOUNTER: A Sabah player (in red) hustling a Sarawak player of the ball in a friendly match which ended in a scoreless draw.

Justin Ganai

KUCHING: After seeing his team beaten 1-0 in the first match and held to a scoreless draw in the second against arch-rivals Sarawak last week, 

Sabah head coach Justin Ganai said that his team was not ready to face the challenges of next season’s Malaysian Super League (MSL).Justin said that Sabah would need to play more (friendly) matches after last Thursday 0-0 draw with Sarawak.

“I expected Sabah to score a few goals in the friendlies against Sarawak at the State Stadium.

“It does not matter if the team draws or loses the match, but the most important thing is that the team managed to score,” he added.

However, his team failed to score a single goal in the two matches against the crocs losing the first match 1-0 on Tuesday and drawing 0-0 on Thursday

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/12/27/goal-drought-worries-sabah-coach/#ixzz1hhoJNquJ

Sarawak reclaim Borneo derby football supremacy

Borneo Post Online

KUCHING: Sarawak drew 0-0 in a friendly match with Sabah at State Stadium last Thursday night.

This was the second match between the Borneo Derby after last Tuesday’s friendly, with Sarawak winning the 1-0.

The match on Thursday saw Sarawak hold much of the possession but failed to find the net due to some tidy defending by Sabah.

However, as a whole Sarawak played an improved game than in their first encounter and was disappointed that their hard work didn’t translate to any goals.

After the breather, ball possessions for both teams were even in all departments with the game being centered on the midfield for the most of the 45 minutes. In spite of Sarawak’s control of the game, the visiting team was granted a penalty during the injury time of the second half which Sabah’s Micheal Baird failed to convert, when he kicked ball over the bar.

Though the match ended in a draw, Sarawak will be the happier of the two teams as they won in their first encounter.

From the outcome of the friendlies, Sarawak managed to salvage their pride in the Borneo Derby.

Sabah and Sarawak are the two East Malaysian teams playing in the top-flight, Malaysia Super League, next season and have long been fierce rivals.

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/12/24/sarawak-reclaim-borneo-derby-football-supremacy/#ixzz1hPZbaAgM

Borneo Derby: Sabah Lost 0-1 to Sarawak

The Borneo Post

ROUND ONE: Sarawak’s Asri Chuchu (right) vies with Sabah’s Mafry during their friendly match at the State Stadium on Tuesday. Sarawak won 1-0. — Photo by Jeffery Mostapa

KUCHING: Sarawak won the bragging rights over old enemy Sabah with a narrow victory in a friendly match last Tuesday at the State Stadium.

But the visitors have the chance to make amend tonight in their second encounter of the Borneo derby.

The evenly contested match on Tuesday was settled by a solitary goal scored by former Johor FC player Mohamad Rashid Aya in the 80th minute.

Besides scoring the winning goal Mohamad Rashid, who was making his debut for Sarawak, made a good impression with his overall contribution to the game.

Another player making his debut was Cameroonian Guy Bwele also put up a solid display to convince Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) that they had made the right decision in signing him.

The match was certainly no walk in the park for the Crocs as Sabah dominated play in the first half forcing the home team to defend desperately on many occasions.

First real test

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: Justin Ganai will be using their scheduled three friendly games against neigbouring Sarawak to fine tune his side ahead of the big kick off on January 10.

Sabah will meet fellow Super League outfit Sarawak three times, twice in Kuching and once in Kota Kinabalu.

The first of the three ties will be played at the Sarawak Stadium tonight and the second one two days later before the date at the Likas Stadium, which is scheduled for December 27.

Sabah head coach Justin Ganai said this was a long awaited chance to finally test his side that has been pounding their opponents in a series of friendly matches against local clubs, with their latest victim being Kota Belud Selection, who succumbed to a 10-1 defeat over the weekend.

“After waiting for so long, our chance to finally test the squad has finally arrived. I hope that the match tomorrow (tonight) will give some insight on the team’s true ability,” said Justin.

“Our objective is to find out our strengths and weaknesses so we can make adjustments before the start of the season.

“Before this we only played against local teams, which could not really give a fair assessment of our performance. The match tomorrow will give us this opportunity,” he said when contacted here yesterday.

With the exception of the crocked flanker Alto Linus and Julamri Muhammad, the rest of the squad made it to Kuching.

President cup squad named

Daily Express

Published on: Sunday, December 18, 2011

Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah FA has released the twenty two names to represent the State for the coming President Cup campaign.

Head coach Johnny Dominicus said it was a very hard decision to pick the final squad as all the players who had turned up for the trials had all showed good skills.

"I was very pleased with the quality shown by most of the players and the decision to select the players was not an easy task for us and I hope the players who are not selected will not be disheartened."

He said some of the young players who are selected for the President Cup team will be drafted into the Under-19 squad.

Meanwhile, Keningau players featured strongly in the new squad with seven players on the list followed by Labuan and Sandakan with three each.

Kota Kinabalu and Kiulu have two and one each for Beaufort, Tuaran and Tawau.

Johnny said the players will only start training once their accommodations are settled and he urged them to be on standby and train on their own for the time being.

He also reminded the players when they come for the first training session here to bring along a photocopy of their I/C and four copies of passport photos. The twenty players that have been selected are

Goalkeeper: Andre S. Tipay (Keningau), Robson Rining (Beaufort) and Nikyus Saiddatul Yakup (Labuan).

Defenders: Adnan Arman (Kiulu), Dendy Lowa (Keningau), Didie Arizal (Labuan), Razid Gafar (Labuan), Nazrim Junai (Tuaran), Apolinario Talakos (Keningau), Mohd Idzihar Qaidi Jaidi (Tawau), Denisi Mekkhadan (Keningau) and Azuan Azmah (KK).

Midfielders: Aldrine Agus (Keningau), Maxsius Musa (Pensiangan), Fread Filemon Saih (Telupid), Muhammad Mohd Safa (K K), Ummareng Bacok (Sandakan) and Mohd Razle Puteh (Sandakan).

Strikers: Zulmansyah Aling (Sandakan), Zackalani Antanom (Keningau), Eyo Mathew (Keningau) and Jetko Romedius Taipoi (Kiulu).

Super 12 from 2013

New Straits Times


THE Super League will be reduced to 12 teams and the Malaysia Cup expanded to 24 sides as the FA of Malaysia (FAM) moved to restructure the domestic competitions  from 2013 to 2016.   

In stating that fewer teams in the top-flight will lead to more competitive and quality matches, FAM competitions committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Amin said the move is necessary to enable Malaysian football to continue its upward swing following the recent successes of various national teams.

   "Every four years we undertake a review of the M-League and we believe that reducing the Super League to 12 teams will lead to more quality matches. We want teams that have good finances, management and performances in the Super League.

   "Only a few teams meet this standard which is why we took the decision to restrict the Super League to 12. This move had been planned for over a year and we wanted the change to happen in 2012.

   "But because we could not give teams early notice, we deferred the changes to 2013. All the participating teams have agreed to this and the question of whether it is fair or not should not arise," said Hamidin at a press conference following the conclusion of a three-day briefing for M-League teams in Shah Alam yesterday.

   The changes mean the bottom team in the 2012 14-team Super League will be automatically relegated, to be replaced by the Premier League champions, while the teams in 11th to 13th places will enter promotion-relegation playoffs with the Premier League runners-up.

   The playoffs take place at the conclusion of the Super League with home-and-away semi-finals followed by a home-and-away final. The winner of the finals take the 12th and final spot in the new Super League.

FA to finalise President’s Cuppers soon

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah FA will be conducting the second phase of selection trials to select players for its President’s Cup squad 2012 at the Likas Stadium on Friday (tomorrow).

The State President’s Cup squad Head Coach Johnny Dominicus (pictured left) said the one-day trials will start at 8.30am.

“We have identified 36 players from the first phase of selection trials last week. We hope they can make it this Friday,” said Johnny when met yesterday.

He added that after the selection the team is expected to resume their centralised training by next week.

“Time is running out, as the President’s Cup challenge 2012 is expected to kick off on January 26,” he said.

“We are looking for 22 players to form the squad. We already have three, who are based with the senior team,” said Johnny, referring to Leopold Alfonso Otong, Md Rozaimi Abd Rahman and Sabri Sahar.

The trio will be registered with the President’s Cup team but are part of the senior side.

Good draw for Sabah

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah should do at least one step better than this season in the FA Cup competition 2012 after being handed a relatively easy draw in the first round.

They are set to take on Premier League minors – Kuala Lumpur-based club side Sime Darby in the first stage of the competition on February 18, 2012.
The draw held in the national capital yesterday will also see them taking on either KL Plus or Penang USM FC in the second round that has been slated for March 10, 2012.

However, Sabah will not have the homeground advantage, as they have to play both the first round and the second round (if they make it through) away from home.
Sabah FA Secretary General Alijus Hj Sipil said they are happy with the draw and hope that the State squad will do at least one step better than last time out.

Sabah have not had a good outing in the competition since winning it in 1995. Their best achievement was in reaching the semi-finals twice in 1999 and 2001.

Besides that in between 1995 to 2011, they also made it into the quarter-finals five times in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2008.
The rest of the years (since 1995), they ended their campaign either in the first round or the second round.

Peninsular tour off

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s plan to go for a friendly tour to Peninsular Malaysia has been abandoned.

Sabah FA Secretary General Alijus Hj Sipil said they were left with no choice but to scrap the plan as they could not get seats for the trip.

“As much as we want to go, but due to the school holidays as well as the upcoming festive season, it is almost impossible to book tickets for the whole team,” Alijus said via Short Messages Service yesterday.

He added that instead now they will play friendly matches against neighbouring Sarawak.

“We will be playing against Sarawak on a home and away basis. We will play against them twice in Kuching on Dec 20 and 22 and the replay at the Likas Stadium on December 27, while the date for the second game in Likas is yet to be finalised.

At the same time, Alijus said that they will also try to go for a State-wide tour, depending on suitable time.

So far, Alijus said the Justin Ganai boys played against Ranau Selection, where they won 8-0.

“We are also thinking of going to Keningau, Kota Belud and Papar. But this will depend on whether the team has enough time to accommodate the schedule for the tour,” said Alijus.

He also revealed that their President’s Cup squad would begin their preparations within this week.

“We hope that the seniors can play some warm-up matches against the President’s Cup squad, and this will be a win-win situation for both teams.

Alijus, who is currently attending a meeting at the FA of Malaysia, said that the new season will kick off with the charity match on January 8 while the first Super League match for Sabah will be on January 11.

The draw for the Super League will be done on December 13.

Pictures: Scott Ollerenshaw, Michael Baird and Brendan Gan

Very nice and clear pictures of our legend, Scott Ollerenshaw and Sabah FA 2012 new foreign import players from Australia, Michael Baird and Brendan Gan. This pictures took by ROY2LIPS. Very nice blog,. visit it here---> http://roy2lips.blogspot.com/

Sabah's Players who won the Malaysia League Golden Boot winner

Season	Player	Goals	Note
2005	Julio Cesar	18	Shared with Zacharia Simukonda (Perlis FA)
2001	Suharmin Yusuf	12	2nd Division League. This is the 1st and one and only case, where 2 players from same team shared the Golden Boot award
	Shahrin Majid
1996	Scott Ollerenshaw	18	Scott is among only 3 players in Malaysian League history to win it twice. (Tied with Zainal Abidin Hassan and Hashim Mustapha).  Scott and Hashim are tied for most win in consecutive years (2 years )
1995		22

Updated: 11^th December 2011

Good turnout at selection trials

New Sabah Times

KOTA KINABALU: Juil Nuatim sees there are plenty of potential players at the ongoing selection trials, which is being used to select the State President’s Cup Squad 2012.

The State squad Under-21 team manager said he was quite pleased especially with the size and height of the hopefuls.

“I’m quite surprised with what I saw. There are several players who have good size and height. I can see that they are quite talented as well. I have spoken to the coaching panel to have a good look at them,” said Juil, when met at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex field B yesterday.

Around 70 hopefuls turned up for the two-day selection trials that end today.

However, Juil said they are not looking at only their size or height, but there are other criteria that need to be fulfilled.

Brendan Gan best goal ever in A-League

Brendan goal for Sydney FC 2008/09 Season (Youtube time 2:50/6:01)

SAPP VP: Don't mix politics with sports

Published on: Friday, December 09, 2011 (Daily Express)

Kundasang: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Vice President, Japiril Suhaimin appealed to the Sabah Football Association (Safa) not to mix politics with football. He claims that a football friendly match he was supposed to manage was snatched and given to the District Officer of Ranau just because he is a member of the party.

"Because of my interest towards the game I took up the offer to manage the friendly game. Following an experience in 1993, the time I was leading the Kowsec team," said Japiril, who is also SAPP Kundasang chairman.

Selection ‘headache’

JOINT EFFORT … Sam Tan, (right), presents the membership card to Brendan Gan, one of Sabah’s two foreign signings.

KOTA KINABALU: The new season has not even kicked off, but Sabah Head Coach Justin Ganai has already got the feeling that choosing his best 11 squad is something that would give him a ‘headache’.

The reason being, he pointed out that unlike this season, where options are limited, but for the new season, he has an abundance of choices, and it involves all departments, including goalkeepers.

“The fight for the first team is going to be very competitive. And I am happy to note that this is going to be a healthy competition, and a positive thing happening within the team,” said Justin, as he indirectly hinted that he has a more balanced squad for the upcoming Malaysian Super League 2012 campaign.

Chance to don Sabah colours

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah FA will be organising a two-day open selection trials to select players for its President’s Cup squad 2012 on December 9 and 10.

The selection trials will be held at the Kota Kinabalu Sports Complex field B in Likas, and is open to players who are born on January 1, 1991 and after.

The FA Secretary General Alijus Hj Sipil said: “We would like to welcome all players, who are eligible, to attend the trials. This is an opportunity for them to don State colours.”

No flight, no play!

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s plan to go for a friendly tour to Peninsular Malaysia could be ruined by the unavailability of seats.

Team manager AR Haji Shahriman Abdullah said they have already made the necessary arrangements for the team to go to the national capital for a series of friendly games.

However, he added they are now facing difficulties in getting the seats.

“Most of the flights are full, and if there are any, there are only three or four seats available (each flight).

Ex- Sabah's Milomir Seslija now coach at Arema Indonesia

Milomir Seslija, the former stalwart with Malaysian side Sabah, has signed to lead former Indonesia Super League (ISL) champions Arema Indonesia.
Arema decided to sign up Seslija based on his track record where apart from being a well-travelled professional, he also had the right credential in as far as his coaching experience was concerned.

Play smart!

ALL SMILES … Alijus, Gimbang, Osman, Hasbullah, Yusof, Irwan (hidden) Bobby, and Ronny seen at the contract signing ceremony. Justin and Shahriman are behind Alijus, Gimbang and Osman.

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah senior squad has been told to play smart and play to their best abilities while donning the State’s colours at the upcoming M-League 2012 campaign.

“When you play for Sabah, we expect the best from you. You must play smart as well,” Sabah FA Deputy President Datuk Lawrence Gimbang said after chairing the FA’s executive committee meeting that was followed by the contract signing ceremony at their office in Likas yesterday.

He also told the players that the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman, who is the Sabah FA President, is expecting them to do well in all competitions.

Discipline on and off the field, Gimbang stressed is important and that it must be adhered to at all times.

Michael Baird interviewed by former team

Sabah`s Matlan Marjan scored 2 Goals againts England 1991

Credit to: http://soccernostalgia.blogspot.com/

Aussie Striker Joins Sabah Football Side

MELBOURNE, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Central Coast Mariners Football Club has released striker Michael Baird to join Malaysian Super League side Sabah FA.

The 28-year-old flew to Kota Kinabalu earlier this month for a trial with the team and impressed the coaching staff.

Baird told the Australian Federation publication he was grateful that the Mariners agreed to terminate his contract to enable him to take up the opportunity.

"The Mariners have been very supportive throughout the whole process. They allowed me to travel to Malaysia to show Sabah what I could do and, thankfully, didn't stand in my way to take up Sabah's offer.

"I am looking forward to this next test in a new environment. I like new challenges and this is something very different for me.

"I enjoyed living on the Central Coast and sincerely hope my old teammates carry on their good form for the rest of the season," he was quoted as saying.

Mariners coach Graham Arnold said he was sure Baird would excel in Malaysia.

"Michael had a good pre-season with us and of course, we are sure he will perform very well in his time with Sabah," he said.

Baird's initial contract with the team from the 35,000-capacity Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu is for one-season, plus an option for a further year.

-- BERNAMA