KOTA KINABALU: Sabah bowed out of the FA Cup after being edged 1-0 by Pahang in the quarter-finals of the return leg at the Likas Stadium last night. The Rhinos were shown the door after losing 4-1 on aggregate which eventually saw Pahang advance into the next stage that is the semi-finals. Pahang won the first leg 3-1 and were the deserved winners despite minor incidents throughout this particular game. Sabah in fact had a better ball possession of the night and proved that they were no easy nut to crack. But the visitors who were better organised especially in the attack, had other ideas
There were not many scoring chances at the slippery Likas Stadium field on Tuesday night due to a heavy downpour earlier. Pahang were slicker in their passing and managed to create two half-chances inside the first 15 minutes of the game. And in the 19th minute they finally drew first blood when striker Redouane Barkaoui defeated Irwan Jamil with a grounder from close range after receiving a superb pass from Tarik El Janaby from the left.
Trailing by a goal down, and 4-1 on aggregate, Sabah upped their tempo and finally had their first chance at Pahang’s goal through Mohd Nafuzi Zain 25-metre attempt. However, it was not good enough to beat the former national custodian Mohd Syamsuri Mustaffa.
At the start of the second half, Sabah brought in Salvester Sindeh for the ineffective Bobby Gonzales. However his presence failed to lift Sabah’s game. But in the 72nd minute, they were presented with their first attempt of the half only to see Dragic Dalibor’s close range header off a free kick taken by Chow Chee Wing land straight into the keeper.
Two minutes later, it was Andre Scotti Ossemer’s turn with another opportunity and again his weak header from inside the six-yard box was saved by Syamsuri. Things could have gone bad to worst for Sabah in the 81st minute when Radzi Hussin was caught for handball inside the penalty box. Fortunately for Sabah, Pahang’s Tarik El Janaby ballooned his spot-kick over the cross bar.
Sabah had a few chances late in the game, but none found the net. With this, Sabah will now have only the Malaysia Cup to look for to end their title drought.
