Sabah U-19 beat Negeri Sembilan 2-1
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah under-19 squad clinched their first three points of the Youth Cup challenge after beating Negeri Sembilan 2-1 in the Group B tie at the Penampang Stadium yesterday.
Mohd Faqrul Idris was the match winner when he rose the highest to head home the crucial goal following a corner kick by Mohamad Sahrizan Saidin in the 77th minute.
Sabah started well in their first home fixtures of the campaign when Sahrizan converted a 10th minute spot kick after fellow forward Asymawi Sulikin was foul inside the box.
Penalty taker Sahrizan did not disappoint as he sent Negeri’s goalkeeper Mohamad Inrah Mohd Jaafar the wrong way to put Sabah 1-0 in the lead.
The first half ended with Sabah holding on to the narrow lead.
In the second half, Sabah were stunned when Negeri took only three minutes to level the tie.
An unmarked Muhammad Haleif Hazreil Mohd Hariff had the time in the world to nod the ball home following a free kick from Muhammad Huzaimi, beating Sabah custodian Fahmi Ikwan Muhamad Azmi.
However, defender Faqrul made sure of the maximum points with the late winner.
Head coach Vun Ket Ming @ Billyton was a mirror of happiness at the final whistle after his side bounced back from last week’s opening day 1-3 defeat away to JDT IV.
“I hope the victory will motivate and inject confidence into the players to face the future matches.
“After two matches, I’ve observed the players must have the mental strength to last the 90 minutes of football.
“There are certainly rooms for improvement. We will continue to work harder not only to face the (Youth Cup) competition but also to get the players ready and become quality back-ups to our senior teams,” he said after the game.
The state youth squad, who are on three points from two matches, will next face Kedah at the Penampang Stadium on Wednesday.