Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC suffered their second home loss this season after succumbing to a 1-2 defeat to Selangor FC at the Likas Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was end to end stuff at the start.
Sabah FC were the first to break the deadlock after Jafri Chew’s cross into the box was diverted into his own net by the Red Giants’ skipper Safuwan Baharuddin under pressure from Darren Lok in the 27th minute.
However, the joy was short lived as Selangor FC found the equaliser four minutes later through Ronnie Fernandez who was given time and space to strike home from close range.
Sabah FC’s Daniel Ting (in red) tries to prevent Selangor FC’s Ronnie Fernandez from taking a shot.
The second half saw more attempts at goal by both sides but no one managed to find the net until the 87th minute when Ronnie was again unmarked to head the ball from a corner which Khairul Fahmi Che Mat failed to make a clean catch allowing Harith Haiqal Adam Afkar to tap home for the winner.
Rhinos head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said after the match that they only have themselves to blame for the loss.
“We were punished by our own mistakes.
We knew Selangor FC have many quality players and unfortunately some of the players that came in were unable to carry out their duties well.
“This is a very good lesson to all the players that they need to stay focused until the very end as we conceded in the last few minutes of the game,” he said.
With the loss, Sabah FC remained in fourth place in the standings with 13 points from four wins, one draw and three losses.
They are one point behind third place Terengganu FC but who have a game in hand, six points adrift of Selangor FC in second place with 19 points while Johor Darul Ta’zim FC are at the top with 22 points.
Sabah FC’s next match is on September 15 against Terengganu FC at the Likas Stadium.
