THE first leg of the Malaysia Cup round of 16 match against Kuching City FC at the State Stadium in Kuching was way too easy for Sabah FC and we won in less than 15 minutes!
We were three nil up with quick-fire goals from Ramon Machado in the fifth and eighth minute, and Daniel Ting in the 15th minute.
I was actually expecting an avalanche of goals with our dominance of the game in the early stages but there was none. The match eventually ended 3-0 and we brought home a good cushion for the return leg to be played at Likas Stadium on August 19.
It was reported that Kuching City FC players lost their focus to concede the three early goals but I thought Sabah FC came out with all guns blazing from the start.
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Kuching City FC did pick up their game in the second half, but our boys managed to defend reasonably well for a job well done and came out with another clean sheet.
I would have liked to see Sabah FC score one or two more goals in the second half that would have put an end to any potential comeback from Kuching City FC in the return leg.
However, I believe the three-goal cushion is quite comfortable but like Datuk Ong Kim Swee said, the tie is not over yet with 90 minutes more to play.
I fully understand his concern as football games are unpredictable at times. I have seen teams lose a two-goal advantage in just a few minutes.
The ball is round and anything can happen in a game of football but I am certain that coach Ong will take heed of this with a plan to deny any attempts by Kuching City FC to mount a comeback, and I am also confident of the team’s maturity in handling this cushion.
Well done again to Sabah FC for the victory in Kuching, and let’s move on to our next big game against JDT FC in the league this Wednesday at Likas Stadium.
I shall be back to talk more about the match later.
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