Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC’s three-match winning streak came to a halt when they drew 1-1 with Sri Pahang FC 1-1 at the Darul Makmur Stadium on Sunday night.
The match also saw head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee given a red card by the match referee in the second half.
Sabah FC were the earlier aggressors despite playing away and had the opportunity to take the lead in the 10th minute but Jailton Lourenco who was given the space was unable to shoot on target.
The breakthrough came in the 13th minute when Daniel Ting headed in the opener from close range courtesy of a cross from Jafri Chew.
Skipper Park Tae-su had a chance to extend the lead in the 22nd minute but his first shot hit the post and failed to make a clean strike on the rebound.
The home side’s equaliser came as a result of defensive errors as Daniel and Dominic Tan both fell on the slippery surface while trying to intercept the ball against the run of play allowing Kpah Sherman to strike home.
Sabah FC continued to dominate the game in the second half and South Korean import Kwang Min Ko had his shot sail over the crossbar two minutes after the restart.
Despite the controversial sending off of Ong in the 67th minute for questioning the match officials’ decisions, Sabah FC continued to dictate the game and were the better team on the night.
Ong said after the match that it was difficult for them to play their normal game under the situation where there were constant fouls.
He also urged the players to learn from their mistake in conceding the goal.
“It was our own mistake to concede the goal. The pitch was also rather soft and anyone can make the same mistake under such conditions, and I hope this will be a good lesson to the players.”
Sabah FC’s next match is at home to Penang FC on March 17.
