By FRANCIS XAVIER
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| Peter |
KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Peter Anthony has issued an ultimatum to his Tambadau squad as he demands the team to get back to winning ways. The no-nonsense Peter said it must start when they play their last first-round challenge against UKM FC at the Likas Stadium, this Saturday. The Sabah Football Association (Safa) acting president did not mince his words when he said he will not hesitate to take action against any shirkers in the squad.
Peter came with the warning in the wake of the team’s poor run in their last three fixtures where they were ousted by an amateur side Kelantan United FC in the second round of the FA Cup after going down 1-0 followed by the 1-2 away defeat to Selangor United FC in the Premier League challenge. They then played to a one-all draw against UiTM FC in their last fixture at Likas Stadium.
“If the team fails to get full points this Saturday, we will not hesitate to take action, including axing those players who failed to live up to expectations. “We will have the opportunity to strengthen the team when the mid-season transfer windows open on May 2 to 29 and believe me we will make full use of the transfer windows to reinforce the team.
“We are willing to do anything to make sure that Sabah (Tambadau) is represented by the best team where our target for this season is to gain Super League promotion,” said Peter yesterday. “When we look at the standings, I think we are pretty much on the right track on realising our target. However, we must not be carried away with where we are today and for that, we need to scrutinise the team from time to time.
“We are disappointed with our recent achievement and we need to put that poor run to a halt,” he said. On the team’s one-all draw against UiTM FC, Peter said: “I’m disappointed with the sudden drop in form from the team. We know the team can play well, but last Saturday was very disappointing.” “When you look at the game, it was a match that we could have won quite easily.
The team created three to four goalscoring chances, but poor finishing denied us the full points. We need to overcome this (finishing) urgently,” he insisted. In this regard, Peter hopes the players can prove that they can be relied upon to spearhead the team’s challenge for the rest of the season. According to him, the Safa management has done their best in looking after the teams or the players’ welfare.
For the record, Tambadau is currently in second in the 11-team league on 15 points from nine matches which saw them registered four wins, three draws and two losses. Johor Darul Ta’zim II (JDT II) leads on 18 points while UiTM FC, who along with JDT II have played one game less than the Tambadau, are third on 14 points. UKM FC is in seventh on nine points from two wins, three draws and three defeats. They have played a game lesser than the Tambadau.
