Ong pleased with overall performance

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC defeated PSIS Semarang 2-1 to finish third in the RCTI Premium Sports 2024 football tournament held at the Jakarta International Stadium on Sunday.

Jafri Firdaus Chew, who started the match, put Sabah FC ahead in the 39th minute. He bundled the ball over the line following a last ditch goal line clearance by Adam Mitter from a Ramon Machado’s chip.

However, a misjudgement from Haris Stamboulidis in the 61st minute when he completely missed the ball allowed Habil Abdullah Yafi’ Prasasti Akbar to score the equaliser.

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Sabah FC were able to retake the lead in the 80th minute through substitute Irfan Fazail who struck with a left foot shot that went in off the post.

Sabah FC had earlier lost the opening match 2-3 to Selangor FC in the four-team tournament also featuring another Indonesian team Persija Jakarta.

The third place finish also saw the team returned with US$10,000 cash prize while Selangor FC went on to take the title and US$30,000 winning prize after their 1-0 win over Persija Jakarta in the final.

Rhinos head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee was pleased with his team’s overall performance despite missing many first team players for the trip. “It was a very good result and the win was important for us to bounce back after the loss to Selangor FC a few days ago.

“We were without four national players and two first choice players who did not travel with the team due to injuries.

“The two matches played here had given me the opportunity to observe players that were seldom seen on the pitch.

“They took their chances well and I found out that they are able to fill in if any of the first choice players are injured.

“For example, today we were without Park Taesu and Gabreil Peres, but their replacement Haris and Hanifie Tokyo (Hasim) performed quite well,” he said.

He also congratulated Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) for the success of the tournament and thanked the organiser for the invitation.

Ong said being among the four teams to be invited will certainly help to promote the name of the club in the region.

Meanwhile, team manager Rafie Robert hopes Sabah FC will get to play in the tournament again.

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“Sabah FC appreciated the invitation by RCTI. It is a recognition of our achievement to qualify for the AFC Cup last year and to finish third in two consecutive seasons in the Super League.

“We are ready to come back here again to participate in this tournament if we receive an invitation in the future,” he said.

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