By: GL Oh
KOTA KINABALU: Jelius Ating said hard work paid off for his players after Sabah Tambadaus brushed aside Penang 2-0 in their Premier League clash at Likas Stadium on Saturday. The head coach praised the team who registered their fourth win of the season with both goals scored by their Brazilian player Luiz Carlos Junior.
“First of all, I thank God for the win. Credit must be given to all the players who worked really hard in tonight’s match. In fact they had also put in a lot of effort in the training as well and it was good to see their hard work paying off,” he said after the match on Saturday night. Despite the comfortable score line, Jelius said it was not an easy match for his players against the Islanders.
“The victory tonight was not as easy as it looked. Penang also played very well and created many scoring chances throughout the match but I must say luck was more with us tonight. “We could have won by more than two goals as well, but to me the amount of goals scored is not important as I believe winning and collecting three points from the match is much more important,” he added.
He also said the support of the management to allow the team to have friendly tour in the Peninsula during the short break also attributed to the good performance from the players. “It was always difficult to play well after a short break like we had for the past 20 days. “I must thank the management for giving us the opportunity to play friendly matches in Kuala Lumpur. It was one of our efforts to maintain our good momentum and it definitely had a positive effect on the players.
“I also wish to thank all the supporters who came to the stadium tonight because our win also owed much to their support.” Meanwhile, Jelius said he has yet to be informed the seriousness of the injury sustained by Sabri Sahar who was stretchered off during the match. However, he is confident that if the midfielder is to miss the following matches he will be able to find able substitute from the list of players available.
