KUALA LUMPUR: Kedah Darul Aman climbed into third spot in the 2023 Super League after beating Sabah FC 2-1 at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar, Kedah on Friday night to collect three points.
The first half saw Sabah dominate the match when Ong Kim Swee’s charges took the lead as early as the eighth minute through Gabriel Schmegel’s beautiful header from Witter Peres who connected Baddrol Bakhtiar’s free kick.
Shocked by the goal, Kedah then launched attack after attack to create opportunities and the pressure paid off for the home team when Andrew Tuck equalised after receiving a long pass from Federico Hidalgo Gasparini in the 40th minute.
In the second half, the red eagles and rhinos lifted their respective games to hunt for goals.
Nafuzi Zain’s men then scored their second in the 72nd minute, thanks to Andrew Tuck who swiped the ball into the opponent’s goal, taking advantage of a chaotic situation in the penalty box when team mate Willian Lira Sousa’s headed attempt failed.
Though both teams tried hard to add on to their tally, the result remained 2-1 until the final whistle.
Meanwhile in the local derby at Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Kelantan United FC (KUFC) trounced Kelantan FC 4-1 in heavy rain.
KUFC scored first in the 21st minute, courtesy of import player David Silva. The second goal came from a blistering shot by OJ Porteria.
The match was then suspended for an hour and a half in the 37th minute due to heavy rain and bad weather in Kota Bharu.
Kelantan FC managed to score when the match resumed with a penalty by Ismaheel Akinade in the first half’s injury time.
OJ Porteria was having a good day as he scored the third goal in the 61st minute, and teammate Mohd Syazwan Zainon closed the curtains on a great game for KUFC when he scored the fourth goal in the 66th minute. – BERNAMA
