Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC suffered their second loss on the road after the 0-3 defeat by Negeri Sembilan FC at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium, Paroi on Saturday night.
It was another big loss following the 0-8 thrashing by Johor Darul Ta’zim FC a week earlier.
Despite the absence of Darren Lok, Daniel Ting and Gabriel Peres, the team started well and were the more aggressive side.
They had more possession of the ball and Jafri Chew almost put them ahead when his free kick narrowly missed the target in the 8th minute.
However, a fast counter-attacking move saw the home side take the lead in the 26th minute through their import striker, Jovan Motika, who made short work of Sabah FC’s poor defending to fire home the opener.
Another import Ameyaw Alexander Agyakwa then added the second with a well taken goal 10 minutes before the first half whistle to put them two-up.
Sabah FC tried to put up a fight in the second half but were unable to break down the Negeri Sembilan defence.
Instead, it was another counter-attack that saw them concede the third goal in the 79th minute when Joseph Esso struck home with an assist from Mio Tsuneyasu that sealed their fate.
Head coach Jean Paul de Marigny said it was the failure to deal with the long balls that led to the defeat but declined to blame any individual.
“We started really well. It was just a bit of disorganisation in terms of dealing with the long balls and we will continue to work on,” he said.
He believes the team will get better once they understand the style of play that he wants from them.
“It is a lot of lessons today and the main objective is to see the boys working hard for each other and the football club. It is important for them to know their role and responsibility within the structure of the playing style. It would improve with more training and once they understand it, we will be a much better team,” he added.
He also revealed that Darren Lok and Gabriel Peres will be sidelined for a long period to deal with their injuries.
“Darren Lok had surgery this week. Hopefully he will recover in two or three months. Gaby (Peres) has an issue with his knee so we have to make sure that he can get the right treatment and with that, he could be out for three months before he can actually start training.
“Daniel Ting as well, but he should be getting closer. He is not too far away from being available and these are the main ones,” he said.
