KOTA KINABALU: The prestigious Malaysia Cup competition will be the last place for Sabah to end their title drought, following their FA Cup exit on Tuesday.
Sabah were shown the exit door in the FA Cup after losing 5-2 on aggregate to Perlis in the quarter-finals.
After a two-all draw in the first leg, Sabah were trounced 3-0 in the return leg in Kangar with Phillemon Chepita netting a brace (32nd and 84th minutes), while Arzimi Azmi scored the other goal in the 51st minute.
The Premier League crown is also beyond their reach as they are trailing 12 points behind runaway leaders Police with four matches to go.
In the Premier League, Sabah currently stay in third on 25 points, while Police look set to claim the crown after accumulating 37 points and having a one-match advantage over both second-placed UPB-MyTEAM (32 points) and Sabah.
So the Malaysia Cup that has eluded them all this while, despite making three final appearances, will be Sabah’s last hurrah in the 2006-2007 season.
For the record, Sabah have not won any title since their Premier League triumph in 1996.
It will be a mammoth task for the Rhinos to claim their first title in more than a decade as they are the only Premier League side remaining in the competition that enters the knockout stage – the quarter-finals.
Unless they can get the better of the big boys of the Super League, then the Malaysia Cup will remain elusive at least for this season.
Sabah have been pitted against dethroned Super League champions Negeri Sembilan NAZA in the last eight.
While Sabah may not be having the best season in the Premier League, where they are almost certain to play in the lower division for the third consecutive season, Negeri Sembilan NAZA are no less different.
Not only have they surrendered the Super League crown, but they are also languishing third from bottom in the 13-team Super League.
But then again, the Malaysia Cup is a totally different ball game as it has its own magic where you can always expect surprises and the unexpected.
Besides the Sabah-Negeri Sembilan NAZA clash, the rest of the quarter-finals fixtures are Selangor-Terengganu, Kedah-Melaka and Perlis-Perak.
The first leg of the quarter-finals will be played on August 8 with the exception of the Kedah-Melaka tie which will be played a day later, while the return leg has been slated for August 15.
Sabah’s next game is an away tie to Johor PG in the Premier League challenge.
