MALAYSIA CUP: DRAW GIVES POSITIVE IMPACT TO SABAH FC

MELAKA, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- Sabah FC interim manager Alto Linus described the 2-2 draw with Melaka FC in the Malaysia Cup campaign at the Hang Jebat Stadium, Krubong last night as a positive result for his team ahead of the return match next Thursday.

He said the result was very meaningful and gave his team an advantage as they will be playing before their home fans in the second leg at Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, and are determined to win the match.

"The high commitment given by the players throughout the match deserves to be praised because they continued to give their best performance despite facing pressure, especially when playing away from home, in addition to the lack of players in the central position and several players still suffering from injuries.

"Although they seemed to lose a little focus until Melaka FC managed to break through the defence in the early minutes and trailed in the first half, the players managed to equalise," he told reporters after the match here last night.

Earlier in the match, Melaka FC started brilliantly when they took the lead as early as the second minute through Muhammad Shahrel Fikri Md Fauzi before Kwangil Pak doubled the home team's lead in the 37th minute.

Sabah FC came back to close the gap through Adjin Mujagic's goal in the 14th minute before Fergus Tierney added a goal for the visitors with an equaliser in the 88th minute, after Melaka FC was forced to play with 10 men following a red card received by Dino Kalesic in the 44th minute.

Alto said the combination of play and finishing needed to be improved, especially in the second half when his team had a player advantage, but failed to take full advantage of the opportunities created.

He said Sabah FC would give their best in the deciding match later on and aim to go as far as possible in this season's Malaysia Cup campaign.

Meanwhile, Melaka FC head coach E. Elavarasan said his team played well overall but admitted that the lack of one player had a big impact on the style of play.

He described Sabah FC as a quality and experienced team, besides the pressure was increasingly felt after his team lost a player, especially when defending in the second half.

"In football, every mistake is punished and Sabah FC took advantage of the situation to get an equaliser in the last minute of the match.

"The chances of both teams to win after this are 50-50, and we will assess the players' fitness levels before determining the starting lineup," he said.

-- BERNAMA