Sabah FC defeated Kelantan United FC 2-0 in the Round-of-16 tie on Saturday to progress into the Malaysia FA Cup quarterfinals.

Team captain Baddrol Bakthiar and substitute Stuart Wilkin were on the scoresheet for the Rhinos, who ended a three-game winless run with the victory at the Likas Stadium.

“It is a very important win after we failed to register victory in any of our last three (Super) League matches.

“The most important thing was that we got the goals. At the same time, we also kept a clean sheet which was very positive especially when we conceded several goals in the last few matches.

“Overall I’m happy with the team … the players showed great fighting spirit and played as one team,” he told reporters after the game.

In the game, Sabah FC were never really in trouble against a Kelantan United side who currently languish at the bottom of the 14-team Super League, although they did feel guilty missing some chances that came their way.

Baddrol gave the Rhinos a 13th minute lead when he rose to head home a Rizal Ghazali’s cross from the right, beating Kelantan United’s goalkeeper Muhd Ilham Amirullah Razali.

The Rhinos needed to wait until the 58th minute to double their lead though Stuart, who had replaced the injured Gabriel Peres towards the end of the first half.

Stuart was at the right place and time to direct a Kwang Min Ho cutback from the left into the back of the net to affectively seal the win for the night.

Kim Swee hoped that the win would kick start a winning momentum for the Rhinos, especially when their next four games will all be played at the Likas Stadium.

“It is very important that we are able to maintain our winning momentum at our own backyard.

“It’s not going to be easy and certainly we can’t take our opponents lightly just because we are playing at home.

“However, if we have that positive attitude just like they showed tonight (against Kelantan United), I believe we will be able to register the desired outcomes,” added Kim Swee.

Sabah FC, who are fifth in the league standing, will return to league action taking on 13th placed Kelantan FC here on April 18.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by BORNEO POST ONLINE

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