SABAH'S HOPES OF ENDING SEASON WITH A WIN DASHED BY 0-1 DEFEAT TO PERAK

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- It was an uneventful night for Sabah FC as they lost 0-1 to Perak FC in their final fixture of the 2024/2025 Super League season which took place at the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, tonight.

Sabah struggled throughout the match as their attacking line was thwarted by the strong defensive play by the visitors and to make matters worst, skipper Rawilson Batuil latched the ball into his own net in the 29th minute while trying to clear a cross from Muhammad Farris Izdiham Awang Kechik.

The situation became even more difficult for the hosts after defender, R. Dinesh was shown a red card in the 42nd minute for rough play on Ahmad Daniel Hakimi Ahmad Azmil forcing Sabah to play with 10-man for rest of the match.

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Although The Bos Gaurus continued to press in the second half, the score remained 1-0 until the end of the game but the defeat did not affect Sabah's position which remains in third place for the 2024/2025 season with 40 points behind champions Johor Darul Ta’zim with 70 points and second placed Selangor who finished with 52 points.

Meanwhile, Terengganu FC (TFC) won 3-0 over Kedah Darul Aman FC (KDA FC) in the match which took place at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium (SSMZA) tonight.

All the goals came through team captain Muhammad Safawi Rasid in the 45th before Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili doubled the advantage in the 74th minute and Nurillo Tukhtasinov confirmed the victory in the final minute of the match (90th). 

Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan FC's (NSFC) hopes of winning at home in the Super League final fixture were dashed when they lost 1-3 to Kuching City FC at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Paroi Stadium in Seremban, tonight.

Kuching City opened the scoring with a penalty kick scored by their sensational striker Jordan Mintah as early as the 15th minute due to a mistake by a NSFC defender who brought down the opposing player and confirmed by the video assistance referee (VAR).

NSFC continued to be punished when another defensive error saw Petrus Shitembi seize the opportunity to snatch the ball and push neatly into the net in the 36th minute, putting Kuching City comfortably in front in the first half.

The second half saw NSFC increase the intensity of the match and managed to get the first goal when Selvan Anbualagan cleverly took advantage of the opportunity from a chaotic situation in front of the Kuching City goal in the 71st minute.

Kuching City continued to add to the woes of home side in injury time (90+6') when a penalty kick was awarded and completed by Mintah.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur City FC closed the season in style by defeating Kelantan Darul Naim 5-2 at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras with midfielder Zhafri Yahya opening accounts for the hosts, thanks to Jovan Motika's beautiful pass from the left side of the field in the 24th minute.

Shocked by the goal, the visitors equalised through Adam Danial Md Zaid's header in the 45th minute but Zhafri stole the spotlight again with his second goal of the night in the 45th minute.

As soon as the second half started, both teams were in the hunt for goals before Mohamad Fazrul Amir Md Zaman equalised for Kelantan Darul Naim in the 53rd minute.

But the hosts were undaunted and continued to press with a number of dangerous tries before midfielder Brendan Gan's pass was completed by captain Paulo Josue in the 71st minute followed by substitute Muhammad Haqimi Azim Rosli's goal which extended the lead four minutes later (75th).

KL City defender Ryan Lambert did not miss out on his name as a scorer after blasting his team's fifth goal in the 88th minute.

-- BERNAMA