New Sabah Times
KOTA KINABALU: Sabahawks Juniors have been urged to stay focused and get their winning momentum going when they take on lowly Sarawak in a President’s Cup penultimate first round tie at the MSN Field C in Kuching today.
Datuk Juil Nuatim said they must try to pick another three points, insisting anything less than that will do no good for the team.
“We have had far too many draws in our previous outings, and it is not good for the team. For this tie against Sarawak, I want them to eye victory and nothing less,” the Sabah team manager said.
“I believe the environment in the team is great. The spirit is also high while the confidence among the players has also improved tremendously after our back-to-back victory over Armed Forces and Tengku Mahkota Ismail Sports School,” he added.
“With that in mind, we should be going into the match with the right frame of mind,” said Juil, while reminding his charges not to underestimate their opponents, who are currently third from bottom in the 18-team standings.
“There is no reason for them to rest on their laurels because we are still in a situation where victory is crucial for the team if we are to make it into the top eight at the end of the season.
When you look at the standings, things are pretty much close, and I believe that teams that drop less points will make the cut.
“So I want the players to realise that we must try to collect maximum points from now on.
Prior to the back-to-back win, the Sabahawks Juniors went seven matches without a win, obviously due to their poor finishing.
However, it seems that the goals have started to come, and they have scored three in their last two outings.
Prior to this, they merely managed to score twice during their seven-match winless streak, where they settled for five draws and two defeats.
According to Juil, this tie against Sarawak is going to be a big game for his charges considering the fact that a victory would help them close the gap with the top teams.
“When you look at tomorrow’s (today) fixtures, in fact this is not only an opportunity for us to improve our placing, but it could also help narrow the gap with the top teams. If things go our way, we could find ourselves in the top half of the table at the end of the day,” he said.
“So I hope the players will work hard and do it as a team in going for the win.”
The Sabahawks Juniors head coach Justin Ganai is likely to stick to his winning side, with the exception of striker Eyo Matthew, who has been left behind due to injury.
Eyo, who scored the opener in the 2-1 over SSTMI, will be replaced by Zul Mansshah Aling in the first team, who will partner Rexjeson Pitirus in attack.
Sabahawks Juniors are currently 10th in the standings, level on points with eighth and ninth placed Kedah and Penang, who will be pitted against each other at the City Stadium in Penang.
Seventh placed SSTMI, who have 23 points in their bag, are also having a tough home game by taking on third placed Pahang, who thrashed Armed Forces 7-1 in their last game.
