Kota Kinabalu: A late goal from Fergus Tierney earned Sabah FC a 2-2 draw with Melaka FC in the Malaysia Cup round of 16 first leg match held at Hang Jebat Stadium on Saturday.
Sabah FC started strong with S. Kumaahran’s shot denied by Melaka FC’s goalkeeper Haziq Aiman inside the opening minute.
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However, it was the home side who struck first in the third minute.
The unfortunate Gary Steven Robbat gifted the ball away in midfield when he slipped trying to receive the ball from Gabriel Peres, allowing Muhd Shahrel Fikri Fauzi to score from a quick counter-attack.
Ajdin Mujagic continued his scoring form to level the score in the 14th minute after Haziq failed to hold on to a Fergus’ shot and he was the quickest to react and smashed the ball home before Haziq could recover.
Another mistake from the Sabah defence allowed the home side to regain the lead in the 37th minute when the unmarked Park Kwang-il struck from close range following a pass by Umar Hakeem.
The hosts were reduced to 10-man in the 44th minute after Dino Kalesic was shown the red card for a foul on Kumaahran.
Despite the numerical advantage in the second half, Sabah FC struggled to break down the Melaka FC defence.
They also had goalkeeper Damien Lim to thank for a magnificent save to deny Azim Rahim when the striker was clear on goal in the 80th, before Fergus’ equaliser in the 88th minute.
The national Under-23 player tapped home from a flick on by Ajdin following a long ball into the box from Dane Ingham.
Alto Linus, who continued to lead the team as interim head coach, said it was a positive result to come away with the draw in the first leg.
“It was not an easy game to come here with a shortage of players especially in the midfield position, and furthermore, a few players also carried some injuries from the previous match.
“Our defence committed some mistakes to concede the goals in the first half, but in the second half, we should have scored more goals with an extra player and this is something that we need to improve in our combination and finishing.
“Overall, we are satisfied with the draw. Credit must be given to the players who always gave their very best.
“We managed to fight back to secure a very positive result,” he said.
