New Sabah Times
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabahawks Juniors are hoping for another good hunting on the road yet again as they take on Negeri Sembilan in a President’s Cup challenge at the TAR Stadium in Paroi today.
Thus far, the Justin Ganai boys have had a convincing record away from home after registering two wins and one draw in their last three fixtures (away).
They edged Kelantan and Police both with an identical scoreline of 1-0 and held Kedah to a two-all draw.
This will be their fourth away tie, and Datuk Juil Nuatim is seeking a win or a point at the very least.
The Sabahawks Junior team manager said it will be great to keep their unbeaten away record intact.
“They have done well in our previous away matches, and I don’t see any reason for not doing well again in this tie.
“What they need to do is to play their hearts out and believe in themselves. They must also play to the coach’s instructions,” said Juil while expressing his optimism of the team getting a positive result today.
He also reminded his charges not to underestimate their opponents, who are currently four rungs below them.
“This is our first meeting, and it would be wrong to judge our opponents based on their ranking. The season is still a long way to go, and the best thing to do is to play to our game with our best abilities,” he added.
Juil hinted that they will have almost all their key players except for two, Didie Arizal Ibrahim and Benerlys Raim.
Didie seems to have cemented his place in the senior side, and will be part of the squad that travels to Kuching for their scheduled Premier League tie against Sarawak on Friday, while Benerlys is still serving his two-match suspension.
Apart from the duo, the rest, Juil said are available for options, including skipper Dendy Lowa, who is back from suspension, as well as Gerald S. Mojikon.
For the record, Sabahawks Juniors are currently lying seventh in the 18-team standings on 12 points from three wins, three draws and a defeat after seven matches into the season.
On the other hand, Negeri Sembilan are 11th on eight points from two wins, two draws and three defeats.