Sabah women share third placing in National Futsal League Grand Finals

KOTA KINABALU: It was a case of so close yet so far for Sabah women after bowing out in the semifinals of the National Futsal League Grand Finals at Shah Alam yesterday.

The state women squad narrowly lost 0-1 to Selangor MPSJ, who scored the decisive goal in the first half.

The defeat saw the Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullahcoached side settling for joint third placing with KL Felda United in the country’s premier futsal competition.

Asyraaf revealed the outcome would have been different had the squad not been wasteful in front of goals.

“We created many chances throughout but our players lacked the composure to finish them off.

“I think it was not our time yet (to be in the final and win),” the head coach texted after the match.

Overall, the state women side have impressed in the National Futsal League though.

The squad finished third in the league competition which earned them a place in the Grand Finals, which saw the top eight teams divided into two groups of four teams each.

Drawn in Group B, Sabah made a slow start as they were held by Kedah 2-2 in their opening game.

However, Sabah bounced back in style in the second game by thrashing Perak 4-0 to set up a mouthwatering clash with the then group leaders Felda.

A confident Sabah eventually stunned one of the tournament favourites Felda 2-1 courtesy of a Dadree Rofinus’s brace to advance into the semifinals top of their group.

In MPSJ, however, Sabah found their match thus ending their hopes of reaching the final and a shot at the much-coveted title to write a new chapter in the history of futsal in the state.