KOTA KINABALU: Sabah climbed a rung up to third after scoring a 2-0 win over Kuala Lumpur in a Premier League challenge.Substitute Salvester Sindeh and striker-in-chief Charles Obi scored for Sabah after the break following a goalless first half.
It took Salvester five minutes to break the deadlock after coming in for Radzi Hussin in the 52nd minute by slamming home the opener from inside the penalty box.
Salvester chested Chow Chee Wing’s cross from the right before unleashing a powerful drive that defeated Kuala Lumpur goalkeeper Saiful Amar Sudar.
Then it was Obi’s turn to put his name on the score-sheet with a cleverly taken shot from outside the box that defeated Saiful for the second time in the 77th minute.
Salvester could have netted his second in the 79th minute, but this time, his close-range attempt off a pass from Obi was blocked by the keeper.
Inside the last 10 minutes of the game, Sabah had three good chances to extend their lead but attempts from Obi, Prince Ativie Guy and P. Rajes failed to find the net.
Earlier in the first half, there was not much action, with Sabah looking the better side among. In fact the home side started off aggressively and could have taken the lead as early as in the first minute through Prince Ativie.
After a nice one-two with Obi, Prince Ativie unleashed a shot from just outside the box, but Saiful was alert enough to block his attempt.
Later in the half, Prince Ativie saw his weak overhead kick saved by Saiful, while Obi’s close-range attempt was blocked by the keeper.
Kuala Lumpur’s only attempt in the half was through its only import player, Lamey Kevin Andre, whose 30-metre free-kick was well read by Sabah’s young custodian Irwan Jamil.
Meanwhile, in another Premier League tie, Police defeated Shahzan Muda 3-1 at the MPS Stadium in Selayang to go top of the standings.
They toppled UPB-MyTEAM, who did not see action last night.
Police sit on top of the standings with 25 points and have a game in hand over UPB-MyTEAM, who dropped to second on 24 points followed by Sabah in third on 20 points.
PKNS, who edged Johor PG 1-0 at the Dato Hassan Yunus Stadium in Larkin, are level on 20 points but Sabah stay ahead of them on better goal average.
The other matches of the night saw KL Plus edge Armed Forces 2-1 at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras, while Kelantan were held to a scoreless draw by Kuala Muda Naza at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru.
