Aerial tussle: Sabah’s Gabriel Schmegel (centre) clears the ball during the Super League match against Kuching City. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Sabah coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee should have no complaints as his Rhinos enter the international break unbeaten, with seven points from three matches.
The Sabahans came from behind to edge Kuching City 2-1 in their Borneo derby at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday.
The Cats drew first blood in the 64th minute through Brazilian striker Pedro Henrique but the home side fought back valiantly through striker Darren Lok (75th) and winger Jafri Firdaus Chew (85th).Kim Swee is delighted to see his charges earn their second win of the season, but was quick to remind them that they have to be sharper when the season resumes. “I hope this this win will spur the boys to be even better after the break, especially when it comes to consistency,’’ he said.
During the international break, Sabah will play in a four-team friendly tournament in Indonesia along with Persija Jakarta, PSIS Semarang and Selangor.
“We’ll be using this tournament to test more players who have yet to be regulars in the team.’’
Meanwhile, Kuching City coach Aidil Sharin said his side were just unlucky to lose the Borneo derby.
“We didn’t deserve to lose. We made things difficult for Sabah and we nearly beat them but we have to accept this result,” said the Singaporean.
“I hope we can improve on some things to be even better when the international break is over.”
