Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC’s assistant head coach Alto Linus said the team’s goalless draw with Kelantan The Real Warriors at Likas Stadium on Saturday was a fair result.
According to him, they had to employ a make-shift midfield for the match due to the absence of key players.
“Tonight, our team was weakened with the absence of several first team players. We had to play without Stuart Wilkin and Miguel Cifuentes due to their respectiveinjuries as well as Dean Pelekanos, who was suspended following his red card against Kuala Lumpur City in the last match.
“As a result, Daniel Ting was given the task to play in midfield as we did not have back-up to play in that position.
“Under the circumstances, I would say the result was fair. However, we did create a lot of scoring chances, but unfortunately, we failed to convert any of them,” he said.
Sabah FC could have easily won the game if Gabriel Peres, who headed in the equaliser to earn Sabah FC one point in their away match against Kuala Lumpur City FC last week, was more clinical in his efforts.
He had multiple opportunities to score the winner with his head including a close-range chance in the second half, but was unable to find the target.
The visitors’ custodian Damyanov Damyan Valeriy was also in good form and made two good saves from Darren Lok, while Damien Lim in goal made a spectacular save in the dying seconds to deny the visitors a last gasp victory.
Meanwhile, Kelantan The Real Warriors head coach E. Elavarasan admitted that Sabah FC were the better team on the night.
“It is important for us to come here to collect the one point. Both teams tried their best to find the winner and I think Sabah had more chances in this match.
“I also believe that we could have played much better, but in this league, there are many factors that will affect your performance especially in an away game such as the unfamiliar environment,” he said.
Sabah’s next game is against Melaka FC this Friday (August 29) here at Likas Stadium.
According to him, they had to employ a make-shift midfield for the match due to the absence of key players.
“Tonight, our team was weakened with the absence of several first team players. We had to play without Stuart Wilkin and Miguel Cifuentes due to their respectiveinjuries as well as Dean Pelekanos, who was suspended following his red card against Kuala Lumpur City in the last match.
“As a result, Daniel Ting was given the task to play in midfield as we did not have back-up to play in that position.
“Under the circumstances, I would say the result was fair. However, we did create a lot of scoring chances, but unfortunately, we failed to convert any of them,” he said.
Sabah FC could have easily won the game if Gabriel Peres, who headed in the equaliser to earn Sabah FC one point in their away match against Kuala Lumpur City FC last week, was more clinical in his efforts.
He had multiple opportunities to score the winner with his head including a close-range chance in the second half, but was unable to find the target.
The visitors’ custodian Damyanov Damyan Valeriy was also in good form and made two good saves from Darren Lok, while Damien Lim in goal made a spectacular save in the dying seconds to deny the visitors a last gasp victory.
Meanwhile, Kelantan The Real Warriors head coach E. Elavarasan admitted that Sabah FC were the better team on the night.
“It is important for us to come here to collect the one point. Both teams tried their best to find the winner and I think Sabah had more chances in this match.
“I also believe that we could have played much better, but in this league, there are many factors that will affect your performance especially in an away game such as the unfamiliar environment,” he said.
Sabah’s next game is against Melaka FC this Friday (August 29) here at Likas Stadium.
