Sabah thrash Penang

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC thrashed Penang FC 5-2 in their Super League clash at the Likas Stadium, Friday night.

The seven-goal thriller saw skipper Park Tae-Su headed in the opener after only three minutes from a corner kick taken by Jailton Paraiba.

However, the lead only lasted four minutes as Hassan Saad’s strike from just outside the box managed to find the back of the net for the equaliser.

Sabah FC restored their lead just before half time when Darren Lok scored from the spot after he was floored by the visiting team’s goalkeeper minutes earlier.

Back by some 12,000 fans, the home side looked more threatening at the start and were rewarded with the third goal through Daniel Ting who placed the ball at the far post beyond the reach of the keeper after another assist from Jailton in the 55th minute.

Five minutes later, Park found the net again and scored his second of the match with a close range strike after receiving a pass from Saddil Ramdani.

Penang import player Adriano Narcizo managed to reduce the deficit in the first minute of injury time with his spot kick after the referee pointed to the spot for a foul on a Penang FC player, which the video replay clearly showed that the contact was committed just outside the box.

Ong

More drama followed as another penalty was given, and this time in favour of Sabah FC, in the 102 minutes which was converted by substitute Rizal Ghazali.

Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee had to sit out of the match due to his red card received in the previous match and his assistant Rastislav Bozik admitted that the team started slow but managed to improve in the second half.

“We were rather slow at the beginning of the game but efficient enough to score the two goals from the corner and the penalty.

“The players were asked to move the ball more during the break in the dressing room. That gave us more options and created more chances in the second half, and we looked much better,” he said after the match.

Meanwhile, Sabah FC remains in second place in the table standing behind leaders and their next match opponent Johor Darul Ta’zim FC away on March 31.

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