Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC’s head coach Martin Stano admitted being disappointed after his team only managed a 1-1 draw with four-time winners Sri Pahang FC in the first leg of the Unifi Malaysia Cup semi-final tie at Likas Stadium on Saturday night.
His pre-match hope of getting as many goals as possible was almost dashed in the early period as the visitors were able to penetrate Sabah FC’s defence and created havoc in the box. Martin
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});However, Damien Lim in goal was able to make some good stops to deny their goal attempts and against the run of play, Stuart Wilkin put Sabah FC ahead with a well placed goal in the 10th minute after the Sri Pahang players lost the ball in midfield.
It was a much improved performance from Sabah FC at the restart but they were still unable to find the second goal to extend their lead.
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Despite the sending off of Manuel Hidalgo in the 70th minute for stamping on Darren Lok’s leg, Sabah FC failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and the score remained until the final whistle.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“It was not the result that we had wanted. We were hoping to win the tie to have an advantage before the return leg especially on their home ground.
“We did not play well in the first half even though we scored and led at half time. We did not hold the ball well and rushed our passes.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“In the second half, we played much better but unfortunately we conceded the goal.
“To be honest, despite the one-man advantage we did not create enough clear chances.
“We were a bit unlucky and we need to learn from this and make sure to create chances and score because this is the only way to win.
“We still have another opportunity in Pahang. It won’t be easy but the chances are still 50-50. Nothing is impossible and if we do well there, we can still win,” he said after the match.
