Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC secured their first point under newly appointed head coach Juan Torres Garrido with 1-1 draw with Negeri Sembilan FC at the Likas Stadium, Saturday night.
Despite an aggressive start from Sabah FC, the visitors drew first blood in the 33rd minute through a well-executed counterattack.
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A swift transition from midfield caught Sabah’s defence off guard and Jovan Matika went on to slot the ball past goalkeeper Damien LIm.
Sabah FC had created a host of chances to draw level but were unable to find the target and the crossbar also twice denied efforts from Dane Ingham and Chris Marlon Ondong-Mba.
The breakthrough only came in the 69th minute when S. Kumaarhan put in the ball from 30 metres out with nobody guarding the Negeri Sembilan FC’s goal.
Goalkeeper Muhd Azri was way off his line to protest the decision for the freekick awarded for a foul on Fergus Tierney.
An alert Duje Ljubic, quickly took the free kick to find Kumaahran, who made no mistake to level the score at 1-1.
It drew heavy protests from the Negeri Sembilan FC players, but the referee Muhd Afiq Naim upheld the goal following a VAR (Video Assistant Referee) review.
Despite failing to get a winning start, Garrido was pleased with the performance of his players.
“I can’t say I am happy with the draw, but the team managed to perform what I was asking in a very short time.
“The players were willing to compete and support each other, so, overall, I am very satisfied with this start and looking forward to the next game,” he said.
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan FC’s coach K. Rajan praised his players for their commitment.
“Credit to our players who followed the game plan and gave their hundred percent on the field.
“We need to improve our finishing in our coming games because we created a lot of chances today, but were unable to convert,” he said.
He also refused to comment on S. Kumaarhan’s goal and said it was the referee’s decision.
Following the result, Sabah FC climbed one place to 10th in the standing with 15 points.
Their next games is the MFL Challenge Cup semi-final first leg away tie with Perak FC on March 4 followed by the league game against Kuching City FC away on March 7.
