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TEN-MAN Sabah succumbed to a 2-0 loss at the hands of defending champions Perak in their President’s Cup tie today.
Sabah were held 1-1 by Malacca in their opening game before an improved performance saw them edge Kelantan 1-0 away earlier this week.
Sabah had started brightly against Perak and could have gone ahead had striker Rexjeson Pitirus converted from close range after 28 minutes.
Instead, the homesters found themselves trailing seven minutes later through Muhd Rafiq Daeef Md Paut’s coolly taken penalty kick.
Another chance went begging for Sabah just before halftime with Zulmansyah Aling firing wide after being set up nicely inside the box by Rexjeson.
It proved costly as Sabah, who had Umareng Bachok sent off in the 55th minute for a second bookable offence, conceded a second in the 70th minute through G. Mugenthirran.
Perak could have increased their lead two minutes later but Khairul Asyraf and Muhd Zahiruddin saw their efforts rattle the crossbar in quick succession.
Sabah will next face Kedah on Feb 14.
