PETALING JAYA: Datuk Ong Kim Swee is troubled with the rising number of Sabah players in the medical room ahead of their two-leg Malaysia Cup semi-final tie against Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) on Nov 15 and 20.
The Rhinos were battered and bruised as they huffed and puffed to defeat the plucky Kuching City 2-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals at the Likas Stadium.
The second-leg encounter proved to be a nervy one for Sabah as The Il Gatto (The Cats) took the lead in the 82nd minute when Ummareng Bacok scored an own goal, forcing the game into extra time as the aggregate score was tied at 1-1.
Sabah had won 1-0 in the first leg.
In the first-half of extra-time, Sabah’s Japanese playmaker Taiki Kagayama was the hero when his header in the 94th minute got them the win.
Sabah will have to thank goalkeeper Damien Lim, who had a superb game, for denying several Kuching City attempts. Even when he twisted his ankle in the dying stages of extra time, he pulled off a double save to ensure they got to the next round.
Apart from Damien, other players who had to come off with injuries during the game were defenders Rizal Ghazali and Dominic Tan.
And during the post-match press conference, Kim Swee revealed that he didn’t have eight of his key players, which included Brazilian defender Jackson Souza, midfielder Gary Steven Robbat, goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and leftback Nazirul Naim.
“My priority right now is the condition of the players. I just want to get every injured player to be fit for the first leg. I just want them to be back,” said Kim Swee.
“As for the game against Kuching City, both sides must be hailed. Kuching played a really good match, they were highly spirited, but we defended well. We also fought in extra time, and towards the end, Kuching attacked, but we stayed resolute to keep the score at 2-1.”
Meanwhile, Kuching City coach Irfan Bakti was furious with his backline during extra time.
“One moment of lapse. We had tall players in the box and told the boys to stop every cross from Sabah. A cross from the left and a header from an unmarked playmaker sealed our fate,” said Irfan.
