PETALING JAYA: Sabah coach Jean Paul de Marigny believes his team are finally beginning to adapt to his style of play after the Rhinos booked their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Kelantan in the second leg at the Likas Stadium on Wednesday.
The victory gave Sabah a 5-2 aggregate triumph and set up a mouthwatering semi-final clash with Selangor.
De Marigny, who took charge just a month ago, was full of praise for his players’ performance, particularly their energetic start.
“The first 20 minutes in the first-half was by far the best that we’ve played since I took over,” he said.
“The boys played with really good intensity. They won a lot of contests and were brave with the ball. It was very pleasing that way.”
Sabah started strongly, with winger Jafri Firdaus Chew opening the scoring in the 10th minute before striker Ajden Mujagic (pic, below) doubled the lead 11 minutes later.
Kelantan managed to pull one back through defender Simen Lyngbo’s header before half time, but Sabah regained control after the break.
Ten minutes into the second half, the hosts were awarded a penalty when the ball struck Alexander Yeoule’s arm, and Mujagic made no mistake from the spot to make it 3-1 – sealing Sabah’s passage into the semi-finals.
While delighted with the attacking display, De Marigny admitted his side briefly lost control in the first half when Kelantan began to dominate the midfield.
“But we regrouped at half time and the response was excellent. We created the kind of opportunities we’ve been working on.”
The Australian added: “The players are responding to the style of play we want and getting their rewards. The next step now is consistency.”
