Sabah FC’s first foray into continental competitions in 28 years ends in triumph as the Malaysian side beat Singapore’s Hougang United 3-1 at the Likas Stadium in Thursday’s AFC Cup group stage action.
Sabah’s meeting with Hougang on Thursday rekindled a long-standing rivalry between Malaysia and Singapore, in a match known as the “Causeway Derby.” And whilst Hougang had previous experience in the AFC Cup, debutants Sabah came into the match as favorites, having stuck around the top four places in this season’s Liga Super Malaysia at this moment in time.
The hosts took the lead in the 5th minute when Daniel Ting delivered a precise cross from a deep position, which was met at the far post by a powerful header from Brazilian defender Gabriel Peres.
Sabah had a chance to double their lead shortly after when Rizal Ghazali’s long throw-in from the right was flicked on by Peres at the near post, but Malaysia international Darren Lok couldn’t manage to push the ball into the net amidst the ensuing scramble.
Ong Kim Swee’s Sabah continued to press forward and came close to scoring a second in the 37th minute. However, Hougang goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam made a remarkable one-handed save to divert Ting’s deflected shot, which was heading for the goal, wide.
Nevertheless, from the resulting corner, the home team extended their lead. Saddil Ramdani’s dangerous in-swinging delivery deflected off Shahdan Sulaiman, and after Zaiful once again prevented the ball from going in, Lok was there to tap in the second goal, effectively making up for his earlier missed opportunity.
Hougang finally managed to register their first shot on target shortly after, as Kristijan Krajcek advanced and forced goalkeeper Damien Lim to push his curling attempt wide. They went into half-time trailing by two goals.
Ramon Machado had an opportunity to make it three for the Rhinos of Sabah early in the second half, but the Brazilian narrowly missed the target after connecting with Saddil’s cross from the left.
Hougang then gave themselves a chance in the 61st minute when Sabah failed to clear a free-kick, and the ball fell to Naoki Kuriyama, whose cross from the left was headed in by Kazuma Takayama, despite goalkeeper Lim’s best efforts on the goal line.
However, almost immediately after getting back into the game, the Cheetahs fell two goals behind once again when Sabah captain Park Tae-soo floated a precise ball into the box for Lok to head in his brace.
With 18 minutes left to play, the hosts had a golden opportunity to make it four. Following Saddil’s corner from the right, both Lok and Dominic Tan had close-range shots cleared off the line before Park hit the post, as Hougang somehow managed to keep the ball out.