New Sabah Times
By FRANCIS XAVIER
KOTA KINABALU: Jelius Ating hailed Tambadau’s spirited display after their comfortable 3-1 win over lowly PDRM in a Premier League tie at the Likas Stadium on Saturday.
He said his players showed great determination to win the tie while wanting them to continue to show that kind of positive attitude in their upcoming matches.
Speaking to reporters after the match, the Tambadau head coach said this is the kind of attitude and performances he wants to see from the players or the team.
He said that they went into the match with the right attitude and character.
“The will to win was great and they work hard throughout the night, which is good to see. I can only say this after the performance…we truly deserved the victory tonight (Saturday),” said Jelius, as he praised his charges for the good win.
However, Jelius was also quick to point out that Tambadau need to improve if they were to become genuine contenders in the league.
He said one area that needed extra attention is dead-ball situations.
“We have been conceding goals from set-pieces. I think, this is one area where we need to focus on,” he said. Tambadau have scored the most goals with 12, which are more than any other teams in the league, but they have conceded eight goals, which is the third worst defending record at the moment.
In the match, Tambadau started on the right footing with Brazilian striker Luiz Carlos Junior giving them a fourth minute lead from a well-taken freekick before Rodoljub Paunovic added a second just before half time.
The two foreign imports then combined to perfection for the third goal in the 47th minute with Serbian forward Paunovic providing the assist for Junior to stab the ball into the net beyond the dive of goalkeeper Wilfred Anak Jambun.
Redzovic Argzim pulled a goal back for PDRM in the 52nd minute but Sabah stood firm to protect the lead despite PDRM pressing hard in their failed effort to at least save a point.
“The early goal (from Junior) undoubtedly injected much confidence to the team and I’m happy that the players continued to work hard even when we were leading 3-0.
“All the players deserved a pat on the back,” said Jelius while also thanking the Sabah FA management and administration especially acting president Datuk Peter Anthony for ensuring the team is well taken care off.
Jelius also expressed his sincere thanks to the about 3,000 fans that turned up for the match.
For the record, the victory was their third successive win that propelled them to second in the 11-team league. Tambadau are on 10 points from three wins, one draw and a defeat, trailing Johor Darul Ta’zim II by two points who also played a game less.
Selangor United are third also on 10 points but Sabah stayed ahead of them with superior goals difference. Tambadau will next face Negeri Sembilan at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium on March 9 before the league take a three-week international break.
