Rhinos made to sweat in derby win
Published on: Monday, May 27, 2024
By: GL Oh
Jafry scored the winning goal.
Kota Kinabalu: Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee was happy Sabah FC managed to grab all three points in the Borneo derby win over Kuching City FC at Likas Stadium on Saturday.
The team was made to sweat before registering their first home win of the new season with a come from behind 2-1 victory.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was also their second win in a row following the 3-2 defeat of Kelantan Darul Naim FC in the previous away game.
They dominated the game right from the start and Darren Lok had a goal in the 7th minute overturned by VAR after a review of the footage found that Dominic Tan had earlier committed a foul on a Kuching City FC player before the ball was eventually headed in by Darren.
They were also denied a one-goal lead at half time when the visitors’ Tchetche Herman Brice Kipre made a goal-line clearance in the 38th minute.
Sabah FC continued to mount the pressure in the second half but were caught out in the 63rd minute when Kuching City FC shocked them with a break away goal.
ADVERTISEMENT
The speedy Nur Shamie Iszuan Amin was able to get past Gabriel Peres before passing the ball for Filemore Anyie Standly to score the opener.
Another VAR review in the 69th minute awarded Sabah FC a penalty after Kwang Min Ko was fouled inside the box, and Darren who took the spotkick, made no mistake for the equaliser.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jafri Firdaus Chew, who replaced Darren minutes earlier, became the hero when his goal in the 84th minute proved to be the winner.
Ong hoped the win will help the players’ confidence in the coming matches.
“It is important to get the maximum points and this win will definitely lift the spirit of the players before we take a break for the Fifa calendar.
“After this we will be travelling to Indonesia to play in the RCTI Jakarta Indonesia RCTI Premium Sports International Championship.
“The matches there will be important for me to try out some players to ensure that they have enough playing time.
“We will then return home for the FA Cup competition and hopefully the team’s performance will improve and we need to be more consistent,” he said.
He also said the team will not have the services of Darren, Dominic, Stuart Wilkin and Daniel Ting for the Jakarta trip as they have been called up by the national team in preparation for the World Cup 2026/Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers (Group D) against Kyrgyz Republic in early June.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
.jpg)
