Team captain Rawilson Batuil and his Sabah FC teammates take part in a light training session before leaving for Kedah on Monday. – Photo credit Sabah FC Facebook.
KOTA KINABALU: New foreign recruit Saddil Ramdani could make his much anticipated debut for Sabah FC in the Super League clash against Kedah Darul Aman FC in Alor Setar tomorrow night.
Team manager Marzuki Nasir said the Indonesian international winger would have completed his mandatory quarantine and should be available for the match at Darul Aman Stadium.
“On the latest development regarding our foreign imports, all four of them have already arrived in the country.
“There is a possibility that Saddil Ramdani will complete his quarantine tomorrow (today) and we will try to get an approval from MFL (Malaysian Football League) so that he can be included in our squad to Kedah.
“As for the remaining three imports, they are currently in Sabah and undergoing quarantine. The Kedah game will come too soon for them though and in fact the MFL have already notified us that they can’t play in the game.
“However, we will make sure that they will be available for the next game against PJ City FC at the Likas Stadium (on March 13),” said Marzuki today.
For the record, the three other new foreign signings are Gabon international midfielder Levy Clement Madinda, Liberian striker Sam Johnson and North Macedonian defender Risto Mitrevski.
South Korean centre back Park Tae Su is the only foreign player in the current Rhinos line-up.
Meanwhile, the Rhinos will face a tricky tie against Kedah in what will be their second consecutive away fixture early in the Super League campaign.
Sabah settled for a 1-1 draw in their season opener away to Malacca United FC last Saturday while Kedah lost 0-2 in the Charity Shield match against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), which was also counted as one of the league fixtures.
Head coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto said the one-point gained in the previous game was a good result and he hoped the squad would improve and perform to instruction against Kedah.
“We managed to get a draw in our last game which was good but now we need to regroup and focus for the next game.
“Kedah were the (FA Cup) champions two years ago and certainly not a pushovers … they are a very solid team.
“It will be a challenge for us but I have faith in the players in the current squad … they are very determined.
“The coaching staff and I have also analysed how Kedah play their game and from there, we will plan for our tacticals and hopefully everything will go according to plan.
“We will give our best to get the desired result,” said Kurniawan.
Asked on Sabah’s stating line-up for the match, Kurniawan preferred to keep his cards closed to his chest, confirming only that some changes would be made due to injuries.
“They may be some changes due to injuries to some players. I know they want to get involved and play but I’ve said this before, we are not going to force a player to play if he is not 100 per cent ready … we have to think of their career too.
“There are so many games to play and everyone of it is very important. So, we need to send a team that is 100 per cent ready and free from injuries,” he said without revealing the names or even his probable line-up for the match.
After the first game, the Rhinos are sixth in the 12-team table on one point following the draw against Malacca United last Saturday.
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