WHAT we had hoped for an upset win against Johor Darul Ta’zim FC (JDT) did not materialise on Wednesday night.
The early goal scored in the 13th minute gave us hope but alas it was not to be in the end.
What we were afraid of happened in dramatic fashion and JDT were fully in control of the match and we had no answer to their superiority.
A thrashing and a sad end to an expected intense match.
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The standard of refereeing in our football league is poor and has been stagnant for years and it does demotivate a team when questionable decisions are made.
But we cannot take away the fact that JDT were a much better team than Sabah FC or any other team in the league.
The night was filled with beautiful goals except for the questionable penalty.
Sabah FC’s first goal scored by Jafry Chew was a real stunner. After receiving a pass from Telmo Castanheira, he took the ball towards goal and before a JDT player had time to close him down, he unleashed a great strike to the right corner and had the JDT custodian well beaten.
The lead however, lasted only four minutes after Juan Muniz let fly a screamer just inside the box giving Damien Lim no chance whatsoever.
Then came the penalty converted by Bergson da Silva in the 25th minute that obviously knocked some confidence out of the players.
Sabah FC’s defence had a ball watching problem in the game. They did not take heed of their opponents’ movement and were punished at the restart because they were poor in closing down on the players with the ball.
The third goal by Herberty Fernandes in the 48th minute was a good example as he was given a free run towards the edge of the box from midfield before striking the ball with his left foot that Damien was unable to stop.
Bergson’s second goal came in similar fashion with nobody closing him down from midfield.
He completed his hat-trick with another stunner from close range following a beautiful one-two slick short passes between him and Herberty.
Sabah FC were definitely outclassed on the night by JDT who showed maturity in their game and played as a team.
Of course they have really good players apart from Bergson and Herberty who are very dependable in scoring goals.
Losing to JDT is quite obvious for all the teams in the league. It is just by how many goals?
Meanwhile, I would also like to convey my heartfelt condolences to the family of Addny Elly Miky who collapsed while watching the match from the stands and passed away later.
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