Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC suffered a shock 0-2 loss away to Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC in the 2023 Super League tie held at the Kuala Lumpur Stadium on Wednesday night.
Despite taking control of the match from the start, it was the home side who found the net first against the run of play through Sarawanan Thirumurugan who lifted the ball over goalkeeper Damien Lim after a miscommunication with his defenders in the 15th minute.
Sabah FC almost found the immediate equaliser minutes later but Darren Lok’s effort was saved by KL City’s goalkeeper Azri Abdul Ghani.
The Rhinos continued their dominance in the second half but fluffed their many goal-scoring opportunities, and it proved costly as they were dealt a killer blow late in injury time when Sean Giannelli scored after receiving a pass from Herlison Caion.
The win was also the first in the new season for KL City FC after six games, while the loss was Sabah FC’s second following the 0-4 thrashing by Johor Darul Ta’zim FC a week ago.
Sabah FC head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee lamented the poor finishing that cost them the three points but was happy with the team’s overall performance.
“We didn’t take our chances and as I had said before, if we do not score then it is not possible for us to return with the points.
“We knew KL City had not won before this. Their game play was more on counter attacks and they executed it very well.
“Furthermore, we lost our focus with the first goal. I found it hard to accept and also the second goal when another error was made while trying to find the equaliser.
“Overall I think we played well. We controlled the game and the players also tried very hard but as I had said it was poor finishing that denied us the win and KL City also defended very well.
“It was a lesson for us and we cannot afford to miss scoring chances again in future if we want to win points,” he said.
