Kota Kinabalu: Gabriel Peres scored another late winner as Sabah FC edged 10-man Brunei DPMM FC 1-0 in the Super League tie held at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on Saturday.
The Brazilian centreback converted the goal from the spot deep into injury time to seal a dramatic victory for Sabah FC.
The penalty was awarded following a foul by Yura Indera Putera on Farhan Roslan.
It was the Rhinos’ second win in a row after the 5-1 victory over PDRM FC last week.
As expected in the Borneo derby, it was a tightly contested match and the home side was reduced to 10-man as early as in the 16th minute when striker Ramadhan Sananta, was shown the exit after raising his feet too high and hit Darren Lok in the face.
However, Sabah FC were unable to capitalise on their numerical advantage and failed to unlock the stubborn DPMM defence.
Their best opportunity fell to Gabriel in the 63rd minute, but his shot was well saved by goalkeeper Muhammad Haimie Abdullah Nyaring.
Sabah FC also had to encounter a nerve-wracking moment in the 80th minute, when Jordan Murray scored for the home team, but to the dismay of the home fans, the goal was quickly disallowed by the match officials for offside infraction.
The three points earned also allowed Sabah FC to move up from 10th to eighth place in the league with 23 points.
Their final game of the season is on May 15 at home to Terengganu FC.
