Kota Kinabalu: Sabah put up a stellar fight to finish second in the National Amputee Football Tournament after a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Johor in the final held at the Daiman Eleven Football Park in Johor Bahru on Saturday.
They had earlier stormed through the league matches with back-to-back 4-0 victories over Pahang and Perak, alongside a tight 1-1 draw against Johor.
The team also celebrated an individual triumph as Mohd Shahnuezam Hamsa claimed the top scorer award with six goals.
Sabah Amputee Football Association (Peboks) President Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah rued his team’s lack of a clinical finish in the loss, but praised the players’ overall performance.
“The team played exceptionally well, but we wasted too many scoring opportunities. Facing a Johor squad comprised mostly Malaysian national players made the match highly intense and challenging.
“Our current squad features only three national players who competed in last November’s World Cup qualifiers. They are Louis Simon, Mohd Shahnuezam Hamsa and Ridwan Yah, while national goalkeeper Fatnee Sardun missed the tournament due to work commitments.
“Finishing second is still a positive result and an improvement from our third-place finish last year. We will try again next year by focusing our efforts on uncovering new talent from every corner of Sabah, he said.
