Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah Football Association (Safa) women’s team secured a hard-fought point after drawing 1-1 against Selangor FC in Saturday’s National Women’s League clash at the MPAJ Stadium in Ampang.
In the top-of-the-table encounter, the home side started aggressively and threatened to score within the opening minute. However, Safa’s alert defence successfully denied the early attempt.
The Safa women were pinned in their own half under immense pressure from their opponents for the first 10 minutes before gradually finding their footing.
The match then became more even, with both teams having their fair share of goal attempts but failing to find the target for the remainder of the half.
The stalemate continued after the restart until the 53rd minute, when Enzi Hekima Starks muscled past two Selangor defenders to fire a powerful strike into the back of the net.
However, their joy lasted only three minutes. As they poured forward in search of a second goal, their defence was left exposed, allowing Sakura Yoshida to equalise for the home team on a swift counter-attack. Both sides continued to trade attacks in search of a winner, but the scoreline remained unchanged until the final whistle.
Head coach Bobby Gonzales expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance in securing a valuable away point against their title rivals.
“The match was highly competitive and well-balanced. Although we started a bit slowly and were put under pressure in the opening two minutes, we quickly found our rhythm. We managed to create few chances but could not translate into goals.
“In the second half, we managed to get the opening goal, but a mistake on our part allowed Selangor to equalise.
“Despite missing out on all three points, the important thing is that we are bringing home four points from two away games, following our win over the Young Tigress earlier in the week,” he said.
