Sabah FC struggle to earn three points against Negeri despite dominating
Published on: Sunday, July 28, 2024
By: James Wong
IT is great to see Sabah FC finally bounce back to winning ways when they notched a 2-0 victory over bottom of the table Negeri Sembilan FC at Likas Stadium on Thursday.
The league victory was well earned as I thought we were a much better side than our opponent and it also put a stop to our three-match losing streak.
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Though we won the game, it was still a struggle to earn the three points despite dominating most parts of the game.
We could have easily wrapped up the game before the interval after Daniel Ting scored the opening goal in the 14th minute when he was unmarked in the box to slot in a pass from Telmo.
I had actually thought that we would score a couple more before the first half whistle. Unfortunately it was the same old missed chances.
It wasn’t until the 81st minute when Sabah FC managed to extend the lead through a penalty taken by Jafri Chew. It brought a sigh of relief for the Sabah FC bench as Negeri Sembilan FC did all their best to find the equaliser despite playing with only 10-man in the last 20 minutes before the goal. Fortunately they were not able to take their chances.
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In the end, it was a good and expected result that have brought smiles back to the team and supporters.
Although Sabah FC started the game without Darren Lok, Saddil Ramdani, Stuart Wilkin and Gabriel Pires, their replacements in Jafri Chew, S. Kumaahran, Farhan Roslan, Azhad Harraz Arman and Farhan Roslan all put in a good display.
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Hopefully, the main players will recover from their injuries soon as we need to march on with an away game against Kuala Lumpur FC on July 31.
I am certain head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is well aware that the team have many areas still need to improve.
Hopefully, they all can be rectified in the coming day and another victory in an away game will further boost the morale of the team.
We need to keep the momentum and perform well until the transfer window opens in August and hopefully Sabah FC will be able to recruit a new hitman for the team.
It is always difficult to fill the shoes of the departed Ramon Machado. My wish is to see his replacement being a playmaker who can actually complement our strikers.
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