Don’t give up easily against JDT, Tambadau told

Kuala Lumpur: Do not give up easily.

This was the message Sabah head coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto (pic) gave to his players, ahead of their Super League clash against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) tomorrow (Friday).

Looking at the results of the last two matches at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, where the Southern Tigers have had goal feasts against heavyweight sides such as Perak (7-0) and Selangor (6-1), the scenario will definitely worry any team.

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However, the 44-year-old coach from Indonesia is confident that his men can put pressure on JDT such as Petaling Jaya (PJ) City FC, who held the six-time champions 2-2 last Friday.  Sabah are also in high spirits after their 3-2 victory against Melaka United last Sunday.

“First of all, we have a lot of respect for JDT as the defending champions and the strongest team in Malaysia at the moment. But that does not mean we should give up before the match begins.

“The players need to stay disciplined, remain fully focused on the game and make less mistakes, because our opponents will surely punish us. Most of the goals that we have conceded were due to our own mistakes,” he said on Wednesday.

Apart from facing strong opponents, the Tambadaus also face other challenges such as the change of leadership in the State government and the Sabah Football Association (Safa), as well as the growing Covid-19 pandemic in the State.

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Following the increase in Covid-19 cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) stipulates that all individuals arriving from Sabah, must undergo screening at entry points and be placed under a home surveillance order (HSO), until test results confirm they are negative.

This saw Kurniawan’s squad which left for Johor Bahru on Wednesday, having to observe the HSO at their hotel until the Covid-19 test results were obtained.

“The results of the first test on all the players and staff yesterday were negative and hopefully the second test to be done today will also be negative. I hope the results are obtained as soon as possible, so that we can go down for training tomorrow afternoon ... If the results are late, we have a plan B,” he said.

JDT, currently top of the Super League with 23 points, only need one point to clinch their seventh consecutive league title, as they have a six-point advantage over second-placed Perak (17) with two matches remaining.

Sabah, who are in ninth spot in the 12-team standings with nine points, are still not safe from the drop zone as they are just two points ahead of 11th-placed Felda United.