Sabah and Sarawak were both relegated from the Malaysia Super League on Tuesday after losing 1-0 to Kedah and Pahang respectively in the play-offs.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Saifulnizam Miswan headed home two minutes from time to hand Premier League runners-up Pahang a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sarawak at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
Following a keenly-contested first half that failed to deliver many goalscoring opportunities, Sarawak came close to scoring three minutes after the break when Mohd Shahrol sent a long-range effort wide.
Nonetheless, Pahang eventually came to life and almost caught their opponents out a minute later when Maycon Carvalho went on a dangerous run, although Guy Bwele did extremely well to halt his progress before he could deal any damage.
Crocs keeper Saiful Amar Sudar then pulled off a fine save to keep out a Maycon effort, after the Brazilian was picked out by an excellent cross from Malaysia international Azamuddin Akil, in what was the first of several times he was called into action in the second 45.
But just when it looked like Sarawak had done enough to force extra-time, Saifulnizam ventured forward to grab the winner and keep alive his side's hopes of promotion to the Super League.
Sarawak's Borneo rivals Sabah were also made to relinquish their top-flight status in heartbreaking fashion after losing to Kedah, with Syamim Aliff netting the only goal of the game in the 89th minute.
Pahang and Kedah will now face off at the Hang Jebat Stadium on Thursday, with a spot in next season's Super League up for grabs.
