Eyes on the ball: Kuching City’s Moses Jona (left) vying for the ball with Sabah’s Gabriel Peres. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Sabah have earned a timely psychological boost ahead of the Borneo derby in the Malaysia Cup first leg quarter-finals this Sunday after edging Kuching City 2-1 in their Super League clash on Wednesday.
The narrow win over the host team at the State Stadium in Kuching saw Saddil Ramdani breaking the deadlock in the 66th minute.
Zahrul Nizwan put Kuching City back on level terms in the 82nd minute but Sabah were not to be denied victory.
Brazilian import Gabriel Peres netted the winner for Sabah in the 86th minute but turned from hero to zero after being sent off deep into the added time after picking his second booking, marring a perfect outing.
But it was still a vital three points in the bag for Sabah over their fellow East Malaysian rivals and the second win on the trot for interim coach Alto Linus, who took over from Datuk Ong Kim Swee last week.
Alto, who was formerly assistant to Kim Swee, said Brazilian centreback Peres would still be available for the Malaysia Cup clash against Kuching.
“It was not easy to play Kuching here, they were on a good momentum so we are glad to win here. All the players played with confidence to deliver the win as a unit.
“There are things to fix but it’s still positive for us and it’s not easy to play away.
“There are players who are getting better in terms of performance and this is what we want in the team and we hope it continues after this.
“I have no comments on Gabriel (sending off) but we will review the video of the incident.
“He can still play in the Malaysia Cup.
“We will see the match video and see what we need to improve. The team will be on a good mood for the re-match against Kuching in the Malaysia Cup.”
The victory ensured Sabah remained in second spot in the 13-team Super League standings with nine wins after 15 matches to collect 29 points.
Johor Darul Ta’zim still topped the Super League standings with 40 points from 14 matches while Selangor are third with 29 points from 14 matches but with an inferior number of goals scored in comparison to Sabah.
