Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC were knocked out of the Malaysia Cup after losing to Melaka FC 0-3 in the second leg of the competition at Likas Stadium on Thursday.
Both teams were tied 2-2 after the first leg held at Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka last Saturday, and the win allowed Melaka FC to progress to the quarterfinal with a 5-2 aggregate.
Advertisement
Sabah FC, featuring their new signing Ernesto Amantegui Phumipha, started well and had the ball in the net as early as in the ninth minute when Darren Lok headed in the cross from Gabriel Peres, but was later ruled offside by VAR.
It was an evenly contested affair in the first half as both teams struggled to unlock each other.
The scenario changed in the second half with Sabah FC left with 10-man following the dismissal of Gary Steven Robbat for a dangerous tackle on Sharel Fikri Fauzi in the 43rd minute.
Within four minutes after the restart, Ahmed Ayman Shamsaldin Abdalazem netted the opener from a corner kick.
In a desperate bid for an equaliser, Sabah FC pushed forward but were caught on a counterattack, which led to a second goal by Che Rashid Che Halim in the 86th minute. Ayman then capped off the night with a header just two minutes later, sealing the win for Melaka FC.
Acting head coach Alto Linus expressed his disappointment after the match.
He said the team had been well prepared but lost momentum following Gary’s red card.
“It was not easy to play with 10 players against 11 on the pitch. We have to take into account many factors including the tactical aspect and the players also have to double their effort,” he said.
Team manager Muhd Arziz Afizy Rumsani reckoned the team must learn from the defeat and move on.
“This is football. The plan we implemented did not work out as we had wished following the exit of Gary Steven. We need to improve the team from now on and rectify our weaknesses.
“We now have to turn our attention to the Challenge Cup and must also focus fully on the Super league.
“We have to be realistic with the strength of the current squad. We will try to make the team perform better than they did in the first round,” he added.
