NO SWEAT!

New Sabah Times

ALL READY … from right, Salim, Razali, Maizulhisham, Mohd Azhar, Mohd Afiq and Sabah FA Assistant Secretary General Junaidi Ahmad Fauzi, seen at the match venue yesterday

KOTA KINABALU: High flying Sabahawks Juniors reclaimed their pole position in the President’s Cup Group A standings without any sweat yesterday. The State Under-21 side was given a walkover 3-0 victory over club side Penang SDM, who failed to show up for the scheduled 4.15pm clash at the Likas Stadium.

 Match coordinator Salim Limbai when met at the match venue confirmed that they have to forfeit the match due to the no-show by Penang SDM. He said they waited for 90 minutes before declaring the match abandoned. “Now it is up to the FA of Malaysia to make a decision on the matter.

 On our part we will submit our report on what happened today,” said Salim. According to the FA of Malaysia competition rules and regulations, any team or teams that fail to show up will be declared the losers while their opponents will be given a 3-0 victory by default. Penang SDM could be further penalised by paying for the cost of the travelling officials for the clash.
It is believed that this was the third time this season that the Navy outfit failed to show up for their away fixtures this season. The easy points earned saw Sabahawks Juniors topple previous leaders Kedah from the top spot. They lead the 13-team standings on 58 points after registering 18 wins, four draws and one defeat with a match to play into the season.

 But Kedah is closely in second a mere point behind on 57. They registered 19 wins and four defeats. Now, Sabahawks Juniors are left with an easy task of topping the group by gunning for a simple win over T-Team in their final group game on May 24 away. “We don’t know why they did not turn up, but I think it was a bit unfortunate for us that the match was forfeited."

This was our last group home game before the quarter-finals and I think some of our fans who came early were disappointed not to see the team in action. “Nonetheless, we are delighted with the points earned as it helped restore our place at the top of the table,” said Sabah team manager Juil Nuatim.

 For the record, the host were all ready for the clash before they were informed by match officials that the match had to be forfeited. Besides Salim, all the other match officials, including referee from Pahang Maizulhisham Mat Jusoh as well as his two local assistants Mohd Azhar Ismail, Razali Ahmad and fourth official Mohd Afiq Muhimian, were also ready for duty.