By: GL Oh
Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Tambadaus received a huge blow to their campaign this season as their versatile midfielder and local lad Sabri Sahar will be out for about six months after undergoing surgery on his right knee at KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital here on Wednesday. The 26-year-old suffered a knee injury during the team’s 2-0 home win over Penang on March 30 here at Likas Stadium.
“I only can recall someone pushed me from behind and seconds later, I felt a sharp pain after landing on the ground,” he said at his bed on Thursday. He was stretchered off by the medical staff, and he did not think much of it as he could still manage to walk on his own to return home. It was only after the review done at the hospital on Tuesday that he was informed of the seriousness of the injury. A one and a half hour surgery was then successfully carried out by the hospital’s doctor on Wednesday afternoon.
Sabri is very optimistic on his recovery and hoped he will start to work on his fitness as soon as possible so that he can make a quick return to help the team where he had been the main player for the past few seasons. Meanwhile, Sabah suffered a shock 1-0 FA Cup second round loss to Malaysian Football League third tier team Kelantan United at the Stadium Sultan Mohammad IV, in Kota Bharu on Wednesday night.
Jelius Ating boys who only lost once in the Premier League this season and currently top of the table standing were given a rude awakening within six minutes of the start. A foul was committed outside the box and the home side’s youngster Fakhrulzaman Wan Abdullah Zawawi took the free kick which hit the defensive wall and take a big deflection to wrong foot Rozaimie Rohim who tried his best to push it away but to no avail. Sabah’s response was immediate and they managed to create many scoring chances but Ricco Nigel Milus, Luka Milunovic and Randy Baruh were unable to convert any of them.
The second half saw the team up their game further and Luka had two chances to find the equaliser with two free kicks, the first was saved by the Kelantan United keeper in the 56th minute while the second was denied by the post eight minutes later. Despite Sabah dominating the game, the home side managed to withstand the pressure and preserved their one-goal lead until the very end. Jelius said after the match that they should have won the game as they were the superior side throughout the 90 minutes of play.
“It was very unfortunate we failed to take our many chances. We could have won the game with the dominance that we had over them. “I realised that the players especially the frontline tended to lose their focus and missed the opportunities to score in front of goal. “However, I accepted the result with an open heart and will rectify the weaknesses after this,” he said. Meanwhile, the State Under-21 squad only managed a goalless with Kedah at Stadium Sultan Darul Aman on Thursday afternoon.
They could have taken all three points if the spot kick taken by Izzat Aziz in the 80th minute was not saved by the Kedah keeper. The penalty was awarded after Zulkifly Harun was brought down inside the box minutes earlier. The boys played a better game than they did against Armed Forces FC last Saturday and again the same old habit of missing the target let them down badly. They created more scoring chances than the home side, and they were also given an opportunity to snatch a last minute winner but Ariusdius Jais was unable to put the ball into the net after receiving a perfect cross from Faizulnizam Aziz after a quick counter attack. The team will play Selangor in their next match at home in Likas Stadium on April 11.
