Sabah to fight for pride in Malaysia Cup

The Malaysia Cup is much sought after in Malaysian football but Sabah have yet to lay their hands on the trophy although they came close not once but on three occasions.

 

However, the East Malaysians fell at the final hurdle in 1996, 2002 and 2003 and the pain is not likely to ease in this year's Malaysia Cup which kicks off today.

Sabah start their campaign with a home match against Perak at the once much feared Likas Stadium and coach Justin Ganai does not see his team as the front-runners to advance to the second round.

Drawn in Group A, Sabah have Perak, Kedah and Johor for company in their quest for a place in the quarter-finals, which means the East Malaysians will need a top two finish to stay in contention.

Sabah football was in the dumps when Justin took over and he has managed to pull the team out of deep waters. He not only kept the team in the Super League with a 10th place in the 14-team league but also qualified for the Malaysia Cup.

"We were hopelessly placed in 13th place with only 12 points before I took over. But we managed to pull up our socks and moved out of the rut by collecting 16 points by winning five matches and one draw which was good enough to keep us in the Super League and a place in the Malaysia Cup," said Justin.

"But I must admit that it will not be easy for Sabah to take on the big names in Malaysian football to advance to the quarter-finals from our group. Kedah and Perak are strong names in the group.

"But it will be a good experience for the team to try and bid for a place in the second round."