A 2-0 win over PKNP (Perak SEDC) in an away match sealed Sabah’s place at the top in Group D with 13 points in the Malaysia Cup competition at the State Stadium in Batu Kawan, Penang on Sunday.
The East Malaysian side under coach Jelius Ating has been impressive with an unbeaten record after five matches. Even a defeat to second-placed Pahang, with eight points, in their last group fixture on Sept 16, will not have a bearing on their position.
Sabah and Pahang confirmed their top two places in the group for the knockout stage of the competition. PKNP is third with three points while former Malaysia Cup kingpins Selangor has only three points.
Serbian striker Rodoljub Pauvonic, 33, scored Sabah’s opening goal on the half-hour mark before Hector Ramos added the second on 80 minutes.
At the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu, Perak snatched a 2-1 win over Terengganu in a Group A match to join the Turtles in the quarter-finals.
Both Terengganu and Perak have 10 points each after five matches but the former is at the top on better goal difference.
Terengganu head coach Irfan Bakti was furious with the home defeat and said: “Perak’s second goal was a very soft goal which should not have happened. The backline is to be blamed for not playing to instructions.
“We had already made it clear that who should mark who but in the end it was a mess. I am not happy with this sort of situation. We only played well in the second half.
“We were punished for playing long balls in the first half. It was a slightly better performance after the break but we still conceded a very soft goal to Perak for their win.”
Brazilian striker Gilmar da Silver Filho was the hero for Perak with a brace, scoring in the 21st and 87th minutes respectively. Terengganu got their solitary goal through former international Ashari Samsudin in the 65th minute.
In another Group A match played at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras, Felcra FC edged Kuala Lumpur 4-3. Both teams. however, are out of contention in the Malaysia Cup. RIZAL ABDULLAH
