KOTA KINABALU: The State Under-19 squad suffered a 4-0 loss to defending champions Kedah in their Group B Youth Cup tie at Penampang Stadium, Wednesday afternoon. Despite the scoreline, the match was evenly matched especially in the second half as the local boys pressured the visitors for long periods but were unable to find the target.
All the goals conceded was the result of sloppy defence by the home team, and it did not help the boys’ confidence after they gave away a penalty three minutes into the game when one of the players handled the ball inside the box. Kedah’s Muhd Syabani Mohd Saberi then stepped up to score the opener and within 14 minutes, they extended their lead through Afif Awwadi Ahmad Tajuddin before Syabani put his team three-up at the break with his second in the 28th minute.
The home team could have reduced the deficit immediately after the restart but Asymawi Sulikin who was clear on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat shot wide instead. It was a costly miss as Kedah caught out the Sabah defence immediately with a long through ball that found Muhd Hazim Ramli who had no problem to shoot past the hapless Fahmi Ikhwan Muhd Azmi in goal.
Fahmi also made excellent saves in three one-on-one situations later in the game to keep the score 4-0 until the final whistle. One positive aspect from the match for head coach Billyton Vun despite the loss was the fighting spirit displayed by his players. They did not play badly and they tried their very best to find the goal even at 4-0 down but was just unlucky in many occasions. The loss was the team’s second of the season following their 3-1 loss to JDT VI in the opening match.
They will next take on another tough opponent AMD Under-16 away on Sunday (March 3). Meanwhile, the State Under-21 squad who will take on UiTM away this afternoon will be hoping national Under-22 player Arius Dius Jais who is on the plane with the team will get into the score sheet following their 1-0 defeat to Pahang at home on Sunday.
