Abdul Hajis Abdullah
SIBU: Sibu face a do-or-die mission againt Bintulu in the penultimate match of Zone B (Sarawak) Raykat Football League 2015-2016 at Tun Zaidi Stadium at 3.30 pm tomorrow.
Sibu Football Association (FA) secretary Abdul Hajis Abdullah called on local fans to turn out to support the Sibu team, saying: “Sibu team needs your strong support and that is perhaps the only way to give them the motivation to perform well in the match.”
After Bintulu, Sibu will take on Limbang in a last group match to be held in Limbang on Jan 16, in another crucial tie while facing an imminent exit.
This is the first time that the Raykat Football League, the programme of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), is being staged in the state and it was aimed at upgrading the standard of the sport and to scout for national players.
Playing in Zone B are teams from Limbang, Bintulu, Miri and Mukah while Zone A comprises teams from Kuching, Betong, Kapit, Sarikei, Samarahan and Sri Aman.
Sibu had received heavy thrashing in the past six matches and have yet to win a single point. Only the top two teams from each group will compete in the semi-finals.
Hajis refused to speculate the reason for the poor Sibu run, saying it was beyond his jurisdiction.
“With the two remaining matches, hopefully Sibu players will at least sense urgency and put their best foot forward,”
Sibu FA coach Lucas Gabriel had earlier said the team they assembled was the best and had been training together for the past months.
He also mentioned that most of the players were very experienced and eager to stamp their mark in the football fraternity and was baffled as to why they had been performing below par so far. — by Philip Wong