.jpg) |
| THE OPENER … Michael William Baird coolly slots home the opener for Sabah after three minutes of play. – PIC BY EDDIE ANGAT |
It was a game that could have gone either way with the host Sabah looking to be the better side in the opening 45 minutes, but Selangor came back strongly by dominating the second half.
Australian striker Michael William Baird helped Sabah to take an early lead by knocking home the opener after just three minutes.
It started from a lobbed ball from Shahrul Azhar Ture. Both Selangor custodian G. Jeevanathan and his defender merely managed to see the ball bounce off the ground and the alert Michael easily slotted home past Jeevanathan that sent the about 5,000 home fans into frenzy.
In the 59th minute, Selangor scored the equaliser in almost similar fashion that saw second-half substitute Solihin Kanasian unleash a beautiful long range cross that Alto Linus failed to clear before P. Gunalan blasted a powerful grounder defeating the hapless Syed Adney Syed Hussin.
Both sides had equal chances at each other’s goalmouths with Sabah’s Md Rozaimi Abd Rahman see his attempt hit the crossbar while at the other end, Bosko Balaban was also denied by the woodwork.
Azidan Sarudin also saw his close range attempt blocked by Adney.
With 10 minutes remaining on the clock, Bosko squandered the chance to put Selangor into the lead, as despite only having Syed Adney to beat, he saw his weak grounder go straight into Adney’s arms.
