Sabah move up to sixth spot after win over Armed Forces

KOTA KINABALU: Three late goals in each half secured Sabah a convincing 3-0 win against the Armed Forces FC (AFFC) in the President Cup Group A tie yesterday.

Played at the Mindef Mini Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, the Tambadaus Junior were determined to open the second round fixtures with a win.

And they duly delivered the desired result.

On-form midfielder Zulkifly Harun opened the scoring with a confident finish in the first minute of injury time in the opening half.

It was the highly rated junior’s fourth goal in as many games.

Sabah returned for the second half in search for more goals but cuurently bottom-of-the-table AFFC refused to surrender for much of the half.

The Tambadaus Junior remained positive in their approach and were rewarded for their patience as captain Mohd Aidil Safee netted the second in the in the 87th minute.

There was still time for Sabah to add a third when substitute Fedric Fadzly Gusmia scored in the 90th minute to record the biggest win of the season.

With the victory, Sabah moved up to sixth in the 10-team table having collected 14 points from four wins, two draws and four losses.

As for AFFC, they remained without a single point after competing in 10 matches.

Meanwhile, other Group A matches yesterday, leaders Selangor were held to a 1-1 draw by Penang, PJ City FC suffered a 0-1 defeat to UiTM FC while Pahang and Selangor United FC played to a 2-2 draw.

Selangor, however, remain top of the table on 19 points followed by PJ City FC on 18 points while Johor Darul Ta’azim III (JDT III) are third on 15 points and a game in hand.

UiTM FC are in fourth spot on 15 points while Selangor United FC are fifth on 14 points followed by Sabah, Penang (14 points), Pahang (14 points), Kedah (13 points) and AFFC.

The President Cup will be taking a break for over a month where Sabah’s next game will be against Kedah at the Likas Stadium on June 17.