PETALING JAYA: Selangor’s hopes of defending their second-place finish in the Super League is looking more precarious after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sabah on Saturday.
The Red Giants had to settle for one point at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, and has hampered their hopes of retaining second spot in the league.
With just three matches remaining, Selangor are in second with 43 points, just one ahead of Kuala Lumpur in third, while Kuching are fourth with 40 points.
Selangor need to ensure they take maximum points in the remaining games, but they also have to hope Kuching lose points in their remaining four matches.
The Red Giants coach Kim Pan-gon acknowledged their chances of coming in second and securing a spot in the AFC Champions League Two were narrow, but not impossible.
“The chances of finishing second are very slim. We should have won the match, and we need to be fighting until the end,” said Pan-gon.
“We will see how things go. Other teams have matches remaining as well, so we can’t give up until the end.
“We have three games left and have to maximise our points.”
Selangor’s Faisal Halim scored first in the 31st minute, but the Rhinos got their equaliser just three minutes later thanks to Fergus Tierney.
Pan-gon apologised to Selangor fans for the disappointing result, and could not hide his frustration after the match.
“It’s very disappointing. On behalf of the team, I apologise to the fans. We should have gotten three points but we lost it.
“We tried our best to do it but we could not. It’s very upsetting.”
Selangor will hope they can earn nine points in their remaining league matches as they have yet to play Kelantan, Penang and Police.
