KUCHING: Ramadhan Saifullah’s superb second-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Brunei DPMM FC as Kuching City climbed to second place.
Kuching City FC head coach, Aidil Sharin Sahak, said the players understood the danger of assuming the match would mirror their emphatic 7-1 Malaysia FA Cup win over the same opponents in September.
“This is a different case, like I told them, and it’s not going to be easy for us although they came to play away,” he said after the Super League fixture at the Sarawak State Stadium on Saturday night.
Despite a cautious first half, Kuching City improved noticeably after the break, with Ramadhan threatening immediately in the 46th minute before his effort was tipped away.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 69th minute when Ramadhan received a pass from Scott Woods before cutting inside and unleashing a powerful strike from outside the box to score the winning goal.
Aidil praised his players for maintaining intensity throughout and for securing both the goal and a clean sheet.
“I’m happy to congratulate the players for working hard. This is good morale for us ahead of the semi-final against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT),” he said.
The match also marked several tactical adjustments.
Regular starters, Moses Atede, Daniel Amier and Daniel Asri, began on the bench, with Joao Pedro and Diego Baggio earning starting spots.
Aidil said the rotation was part of his plan to keep the squad fresh and to give opportunities to local players.
“Pedro looks sharper now. When we brought in Moses and Daniel Amier, the flow of our football became better. These are changes we needed for consistency,” he said.
Kuching City were given a late scare in the 90th minute when Prosper Boakep poked the ball into the net from a corner, but the effort was disallowed after a VAR review confirmed a foul in the buildup.
The match ended in heated fashion when Fairuz Zakaria was shown a red card for a reckless challenge on Woods in stoppage time.
Aidil also expressed concern over defender, James Okwuosa, who picked up a knock on the wet, slippery surface.
“We’ll see how it is tomorrow once he wakes up and what the doctor says. Hopefully it’s positive,” he added.
The Cats claimed an important victory to climb to second place in the league, level on 20 points with Kuala Lumpur City FC.
