Indonesia international winger Saddil Ramdani pulled off a Man of the Match performance on last Thursday’s AFC Cup action as he assisted three times to help Malaysian side Sabah FC crush Indonesia’s PSM Makassar 5-0 at the Kapten I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar.
Although Yuran Fernandes has returned to Bernardo Tavares’ PSM side following his absence in the Juku Eja‘s 3-0 defeat away at Hai Phong FC in their AFC Cup opener, influential captain Wiljan Pluim is still missing from the PSM starting eleven against Sabah, with rumors circulating that the Dutchman has been dropped from the Juku Eja‘s AFC Cup squad as well as the PSM management deciding to sacrifice their AFC Cup campaign for the sake of focusing on their faltering Liga 1 Indonesia title defense, as the club are currently 14th in the 18-team league.
Pluim’s absence was well-felt as PSM lacked the creativity and potency that won them the league title last season, with Sabah easily tearing through the Juku Eja as if they were made out of tissue. Darren Lok opened the scoring for the Rhinos in the 6th minute, easily beating Yuran to an incoming Saddil cross before heading the ball with little effort into Reza Arya Pratama’s goal.
Cifu narrowly missed the target with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, as Sabah aimed to extend their lead even further. Defender Gabriel Peres then doubled the visitors’ advantage, leaping highest in the PSM penalty area to meet another cross from Saddil and heading the ball home from a distance of seven yards, just nine minutes before half-time.
Saddil was on fire throughout the match and once again the former Persela Lamongan man played the role of provider early in the second half, skillfully maneuvering into the PSM area after a tricky dribble down the right flank. He then delivered a precise pass to Darren, who calmly finished from the edge of the six-yard box for his brace.
PSM’s misery was further compounded in the 57th minute when Reza was shown a red card for venturing out of his area and performing a last-man foul on Saddil. Sixteen minutes later, Stuart Wilkin added to the Juku Eja‘s woes by sending a free-kick from 25 yards out towards the PSM goal. The ball took a deflection off both Yuran and Everton Nascimento in the PSM wall, leaving substitute goalkeeper Muhammad Ardiansyah helpless before Farhan Roslan sealed the victory with a goal in injury time, cementing the biggest win for a Malaysian club in Indonesian soil so far.