Good result despite Sarawak firing blanks

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KUCHING: Sarawak had the match in their grasp but could not deliver all three points when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Police in the Premier League on Monday.The hosts could have taken the lead in the 19th minute when Sufizal Ismail took advantage of a mix-up in the Police defence to unleash a powerful shot.

Police goalkeeper Abdul Rahman Ismail was taken aback by Sufizal’s attempt — he just looked at the ball without making any serious effort to stop the shot.

Luckily for the visitors, the ball struck the cross bar and bounced off target.

Sarawak coach Mohd Zaki Shaikh Ahmad said although his side did not win, he was generally pleased with the way his boys played.

He noted that the only letdown was the team’s lack of bite upfront.

“I’m happy with the team’s overall showing but I must say our finishing tonight was not okay. We need to work on it,” he told a post-match press conference at Sarawak Stadium in Petra Jaya.

Zaki disclosed that he had planned to play striker Mohd Hadra Bakri but the player’s licence was missing from Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) office on match day.

“But he will be available for the next match,” he said.

On his decision to exclude Zamri Morshidi from the first 11, the coach said he didn’t want to throw the player into the fray so soon as he had just recovered from an illness. He also revealed that Mohd Shahrol Saperi was on the injury list.

Meanwhile, Police coach K. Thaiyamanthan said both teams had equal chances but could not find the net.

“We have no problem with this because to us, it’s still a good result … we go home with one point.”

He added that he would do something to sharpen his side’s  attack when they return to Kuala Lumpur.

On winger Abdul Rayjal, son of former Sarawak coach and stalwart Abdul Jalil Ramli, Thaiyamanthan said the youngster was an asset to Police considering his potential.

According to Thaiyamanthan, FAM was closely monitoring Rayjal’s progress in the hope of roping him into the SEA Games squad.

However, the coach thought Rayjal was a bit below par during Monday night’s match.

“Maybe he wanted to play safe … not pushing himself too hard in our first match in the league.”

He said Rayjal was named man of the match in the encounter between Police and Selangor last season.

“Rayjal has a good future but he has to set himself a target if he wants to realise his potential,” Thaiyamanthan added.

Sarawak will play away to KL Felda United FC at KL Stadium, Cheras on Jan 15 before hosting Selangor PKNS FC three days later.