‘Poor refereeing’ robs Sabah of victory — coach
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Under-19 side went down fighting against Terengganu FC IV but lost to the group leaders 1-3 in their Youth Cup Group A top-of-thetable clash at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium yesterday.
The state juniors found themselves three-nil down in the first half before Leonardo Lisua pulled a goal back in the 75th minute.
Head coach Mohd Aiyyman Shah David Abdullah was particularly upset with what he claimed was poor refereeing standard in the game.
He said the scoreline did not justify the state under-19 squad dominant performance against the group leaders.
“The referee had a bad game. Two of Terennganu’s goals were offside but both were given.
“Other than that, the players did well to dominate and control the game...it was the positive to have come out of the game and I’m very pleased with it,” he said when contacted yesterday.
The defeat saw Sabah Under19 remain second in the 10-team Group A on 29 points while Terengganu FC IV moved to 41 points.
Sabah must avoid defeat in their last group match away to Kuala Lumpur on July 29 to conclude the season in second place, especially with third place PKNS FC on 27 points and fourth place Kuala Lumpur on 26 points.
The top four teams, however, have already confirmed their quarterfinal berth.
Meanwhile, Sabah Under21 squad under head coach Johnny Dominicus travelled to Kota Bahru to take on Kelantan today.
Group A leaders Sabah and fourth place Kelantan already booked their quarterfinal place leaving them to fight for their group position.
The Junior Rhinos are top with 40 points followed by Kedah on 39 points, Johor Darul Takzim III on 37 points and Kelantan 35 points.