Accept outcome and move on, manager tells Rhinos following crash-out in Likas

KOTA KINABALU (Jan 23): Sabah FC would have to settle for a place in the second-tier Challenge Cup after crashing out in the first hurdle of the Malaysia Cup on Thursday.

Ten-man Rhinos were stunned 3-0 by Melaka FC in the second leg of their second-round tie at the Likas Stadium, sealing a 5-2 aggregate defeat.

The first leg in Melaka had ended in a 2-2 draw at the Hang Jebat Stadium.

Speaking when met after the match, newly-appointed team manager Muhd Arziz Afizy Rumsani said the players must move on from the disappointment, and be focused on the competition that they were still involved in.

He said the Challenge Cup, contested by teams eliminated in the Malaysia Cup round-of-16, could be a platform for the Rhinos to turn their season for the better, especially in the Super League.

“This is football.

“Sometimes what we plan doesn’t happen,” said Arziz, who previously led the state women’s team to two champions titles and a runner-up finish in the past three National Women’s League campaigns.

“The red card to Gary (Steven Robbat) affected our momentum.

“We must accept the outcome and move on.

“Whatever happens, we’ll fix it in the Challenge Cup and then continue to improve so that we can be more focused in the Super League.

“We need to be realistic about the team’s strength.

“We. in the management. will do our best to rectify the weaknesses and improve our standing in the Super League,” he added.

FA Cup runners-up Sabah languish just above the relegation zone, sitting 10th in the 13-team league having collected 14 points (three wins, five draws, six losses) from as many games.

The Rhinos will travel to face their FA Cup conquerors, current league leaders Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), in an away league fixture this Feb 21.

Meanwhile, assistant head coach Alto Linus praised the players’ fighting quality, although it was not just enough to win the game for them.

“Overall, it was a good fight, especially in the first half.

“We even scored (but ruled offside after VAR check).

“It was a balanced game when we had all 11 players, (but) the rhythm was lost when we were down to 10 men.

“It’s not easy to play against 11. There are many factors we needed to look at such as tactical changes and the need for double efforts from all the players.

“Even then, we still tried to score. We controlled the match as well, but like I said earlier, it’s not easy to finish the remaining time with only 10 players.

“Our focus after this is the Challenge Cup starting February. I think this is a good opportunity for us to improve our overall performance,” he said.

In the game, Darren Lok saw his early headed goal cancelled for offside before things got bad for Sabah when Gary was sent off for rough play.

Melaka, at 12th in the league, took advantage of the incident to score through Egyptian striker Ahmed Shamsaldin – at 50th and 88th minutes – and defender Che Rashid Che Halim, at the 86th minute.

With the win, Melaka advanced into the quarter-finals, where waiting will be JDT, who progressed after a 10-1 aggregate win over PDRM.