PETALING JAYA: Amri Yahyah seems to age like fine wine.
The 41-year-old attacking midfielder came on in the second-half to single-handedly win the match for Sabah by scoring twice in the 2-1 win over Melaka at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday.
The visitors had earlier stunned the high-riding Sabah when Nigerian striker Ifedayo Olusegun scored in the 23rd minute.
Affected by the setback, the Rhinos went on a rampage to get back into the game but to no avail until Amri’s introduction.
The former Selangor player opened account in the 65th minute when he thumped in Alto Linus’ cross with a thunderous volley.
Amri capped a fine night when he struck late in the 91st minute to sent the fans into raptures.
Sabah coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee praised his super sub for getting them out of jail.
“Amri was brilliant with the goals but players like Farhan Roslan, Ahmad Tokyo and Irfan Fazail also made an impact on getting us the win,” said Kim Swee.
“This is the third time we had to come back from behind to win. We can’t keep on doing this, we will have to work on this.
“Anyway, five games in 15 days is no joke and the pitch was heavy but we persevered. The important thing is we held on to our second spot in the league.”
Sabah have collected 31 points, a point behind Johor Darul Ta’zim who have two games in hand while Melaka are seventh on 16 points.
Meanwhile, Sarawak recorded their fourth win of the season after overcoming bottom team Penang 3-2 at the City Stadium in George-town.
