KK, Kota Belud for Safa Cup final showdown

It will be a showdown between Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud in the Sabah Football Associa on (SAFA) Cup Tournament tle match at 3pm today.

KOTA KINABALU: It will be a showdown between Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud in the Sabah Football Association (SAFA) Cup Tournament title match at 3pm today.

The final is a repeat of an earlier match which saw the two sides meet in the group stage challenge.

And if the 1-1 draw from that game is anything to go by, then football fans will have plenty of action to catch in the title-decider at the Likas Stadium.

Yesterday, Kota Belud booked their spot in the final after beating Keningau 2-0 at the Likas Stadium, while Kota Kinabalu announced their contention by way of a 3-1 victory over Kinabatangan.

The goals for Kota Belud only came after the break with Mohd Azmizan Ruslih making his mark in the 60th minute, while Helton Dudil left it late to seal the win in injury time.

A similar story unfolded at the Penampang Stadium where there was plenty of action but no goals until the second half.

But three in the span of 15 minutes sent the scales tipping as Kota Kinabalu locked their sights on victory with 30 minutes left on the clock.

They took the lead just six minutes after the restart through Mohd Faqkrurazi Ahmad before doubling it in the 57th minute courtesy of Mohd Wafi Yakop.

The 2-0 cushion put the scoring side into a frenzy as broken spirits riddled the camp at the other end of the field.

Kinabatangan players scurried to get back into the game but the punishment continued when Kota Kinabalu got their third goal through Mohd Sariman Mukarin just three minutes later.

Faizalnizam Aziz pulled one back in the 67th minute but the consolation goal did little to undo the damage that was left from the blitz.

Meanwhile, football fans are invited to catch the live action between Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud in the final.

The match for third place between Keningau and Kinabatangan is also scheduled to kick off at 3pm over at the synthetic field next to the stadium.