Kota Kinabalu: Gabriel Peres helped Sabah FC to snatch a last-gasp equaliser against Penang FC in the first leg of the 2025/2026 MFL Challenge Cup Final held at the City Stadium on Saturday.
The Brazilian centre back scored from the penalty spot after he was fouled by Penang FC goalkeeper Ramadhan Hamid deep into injury time.
Advertisement
_E.jpg)
The crucial goal denied Penang FC the chance to take a one-goal advantage as they head into the second leg to be held at Likas Stadium on April 19.
The match started brightly for the home side and they had missed many chances to take the lead in the first half.
Their star striker Dylan Wenzel-Halls was a constant threat to the Sabah FC defence but was unable to find the target. It wasn’t until the 70th minute when he latched onto a long ball from Faith Obilor to put his team ahead with a clinical finish.
Sabah FC managed to create a few chances as well in the first half with Chris Marlon Ondong-Mba missing the target twice and Dean Pelekanos also saw his strike miss the crossbar by inches.
Advertisement
Rhinos’ head coach Juan Torres Garrido expressed satisfaction with the draw despite having a depleted side as he had only 16 players available for the trip due to various reasons.
He also hopes that his players can be more clinical in front of the goal in the return match and urged them to step up and share the goal-scoring duties.
“I am sure we can do better with this team. We had scored many goals from the same player (Adjin Mujagic) before he left.
“The players may have been too dependent on him in the past, and they must now learn to take on this burden collectively. It’s time for everyone to contribute and start scoring,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sabah FC will next take on Selangor FC in the Super League match away on April 11.
