Malaysian side Sabah FC secured third place after narrowly defeating Indonesia’s PSIS Semarang with a 2-1 score in the third-place match of the RCTI Premium Sports International Tournament on Sunday at the Jakarta International Stadium.
Both teams started aggressively from the first minute. Sabah had their best chance in the 5th minute when Haris Stamboulidis’ shot hit the PSIS goalpost.
After that, both teams continued to exchange attacks to score the opening goal. However, by the 25th minute, no goals had been scored. PSIS had a chance in the 30th minute through Tri Setiawan’s shot, which was too weak.
Meanwhile, Sabah frequently threatened the Mahesa Jenar‘s goal. The Rhinos finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute with a shot from Jafri Fridaus Chew that went beyond Rizky Darmawan’s reaches. No additional goals were scored until the first half ended, and Sabah held a slim 1-0 lead over PSIS.
After the break, both teams maintained their high tempo. PSIS and Sabah continued to launch attacks in search of goals. Eventually, the Mahesa Jenar‘s efforts paid off in the 60th minute when Habil Abdillah’s shot successfully breached Khairul Fahmi Che Mat’s defenses, leveling the score at 1-1.
Sabah tried to respond, but Ong Kim Swee’s men struggled to break through PSIS’s defense. By the 75th minute, the score was still tied at 1-1.
Finally, the Rhinos managed to score the winning goal in the 80th minute through Irfan Fazail, clinching Sabah their narrow, hard-fought 2-1 win and with that, the bronze medal of the RCTI Premium Sports International Tournament.