ROUND ONE: Sarawak’s Asri Chuchu (right) vies with Sabah’s Mafry during their friendly match at the State Stadium on Tuesday. Sarawak won 1-0. — Photo by Jeffery Mostapa
KUCHING: Sarawak won the bragging rights over old enemy Sabah with a narrow victory in a friendly match last Tuesday at the State Stadium.
But the visitors have the chance to make amend tonight in their second encounter of the Borneo derby.
The evenly contested match on Tuesday was settled by a solitary goal scored by former Johor FC player Mohamad Rashid Aya in the 80th minute.
Besides scoring the winning goal Mohamad Rashid, who was making his debut for Sarawak, made a good impression with his overall contribution to the game.
Another player making his debut was Cameroonian Guy Bwele also put up a solid display to convince Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) that they had made the right decision in signing him.
The match was certainly no walk in the park for the Crocs as Sabah dominated play in the first half forcing the home team to defend desperately on many occasions.
The home team had goalkeeper Saiful Amar Sudar and their solid back four to thank for in keeping the game goalless at half time.
The half time pep talk by stand-in coach Mohd Farhan seemed to do the trick as Sarawak played much better in the second half as the players found more accuracy in their passes and brought the game more to the visitors.
Coach Robert Alberts could not be with the team due to some personal matters but he must have been pleased by his team’s resilience in the face of Sabah’s onslaught in the first half and their ability to nick a goal in the second half.
The visitors have the chance to make amend tonight as Sabah will again face-off with Sarawak in their second encounter of the Borneo derby.