Rhinos hold Perak but miss final
Sabah put up a brave performance but it was s ll not enough to tame the Bos Gaurus Perak at the Likas Stadium last night.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah put up a brave performance but it was still not enough to tame the Bos Gaurus Perak at the Likas Stadium last night.
The Rhinos were held 2-2 in the second leg of the semifinals to exit the Malaysia Cup 2-7 on aggregate.
Trailing 0-5 from the first leg, the Rhinos seemed unperturbed as they took the game to Perak and restored some lost pride from the first leg drubbing.
Sabah were without injured top scorer Hector Ramos, but that did not stop head coach Jelius Ating from springing a surprise by making four changes to his line-up, including giving local import Elias Sulaiman his first start in months.
It was a brave move that paid off as Sabah showed the fighting spirit that was lacking from the first leg with Elias at the heart of everything positive for the Rhinos in the first half.
However, Perak was not to be undone as they could have gone two up inside 25 minutes of play but goalkeeper Rozaimie Rohim showed great awareness to save from Gilmar Jose Da Silva Filho and Muhammad Firdaus Saiyadi in one-on-one situations.
The Rhinos, despite their courageous and aggressive display, had to wait until the 29th minute for their first chance when Elias sent a powerful free kick that Muhammad Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Mothy punched to safety.
Elias continued to trouble Perak with his trusted left foot and from a corner in the 34th minute when the Rhinos found the back of the net.
Sabri was at the right place and time to tap home after Elias’ corner kick was deflected into his path, sending fans into a frenzy.
With the fans cheering on, the Rhinos ended the half strongly but without much luck on goals.
Sabah continued where they left off in the second half but without much success while Perak only grew stronger as the game progressed.
Rodoljub Paunovic had Sabah’s best chance with a weak header before Gilmar Jose Da Silva Filho took over.
The Brazilian striker made it 1-1 that night when he converted a penalty kick after Rozaimie brought down Ahmad Khairil in an earlier clash for the ball in the 74th minute.
Gilmar then brought some Samba moves to put Perak 2-1 up when he evaded a defender before rounding Rozaimi to slot into the empty net in the 80th minute.
To Sabah’s credit, they did not surrender easily as they countered in numbers and one such move led to captain Rawilson Batuil scoring the equaliser late on.
Sabah had several more chances after that but went begging as they exited the Malaysia Cup with their heads held high.
Meanwhile, Perak will take on Terengganu, who edged Johor Darul Takzim 3-2 on aggregate on Saturday, in the Malaysia Cup final.