Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC suffered their fourth defeat of the Super League season with a 1-2 loss to Selangor FC at the Likas Stadium on Saturday.
The team failed to build on the good start after Fergus Tierney had scored the opening goal with a header in the 9th minute off a cross by Miguel Cifuentes.
They conceded the equaliser late in the first half after a lapse in concentration in defence allowed Alvin Mateus Fortes to strike home from close range in the 43rd minute.
Another mistake 13 minutes after the restart saw the visitors take advantage of the failure to clear the ball inside the box and this time, Selangor FC’s skipper Faisa Halim shot home with ease.
Despite another winless result, head coach Jean Paul de Marigny was pleased with the attitude of his players.
“I thought we started a bit slow, allowing them to dominate in the opening minutes, but once the players understood their roles, we slowly started to take the game to them.
“It is very pleasing that way and we are building something here and I am very proud of the players.
“There is always a lesson in the game and I think everyone in the stadium will appreciate that the players never stopped trying and they kept on playing.
“There were a lot of big efforts by a lot of players and we only got punished for a couple of defensive mistakes.
“Good teams will take advantage of that if you switch off for a brief period, and the two goals conceded were very similar,” he said.
He added that the team is a much-improved side and needs to be more consistent.
“We just got to get better and work hard on the principles. We need to stay in the game longer and try to be consistent and be focused all the time.
“If you saw us a month ago, this is a very different team. I think everyone can see this and that’s what football is about.
“We are here to entertain and play football and that is what we want to do. The players will try to execute as much as possible and it is my job to make them better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah FC and Selangor FC will meet again on November 9 in the first leg of the FA Cup semi-final tie to be played here at the Likas Stadium.
