TOWERING IVAN: Sarawak hitman, Ivan Babic goes airborne during a tussle for the ball in last night’s match against Kedah which ended 1 – 0 in favour of the homesters. The Crocs continued to trail current leader Sime Darby in the Premier League table standings. — Photo by Chimon Upon.
KUCHING: Sarawak is back to its winning ways after it narrowly defeated Kedah 1 – 0 in their Premier League match played at State Stadium, Petra Jaya last night.
The Crocs’ winning goal was scored by Bobby Gonzales who beat the visitors’ last man, Abdul Hadi Abdul Hamid in 18th minute through a one-to-one encounter.
Earl ier on, the homesters nearly drew fi rst blood in the third minute through Guy Bwele after taking a free kick within Kedah’s box and resulted in a goalmouth melee.
Referee Sani Tari was forced to blow the whistle when Hadi was fouled.
Another free kick was again awarded to the Crocs in the 11th minute with Joseph Kalang Tie taking the shot in the box but the connecting header by fellow team mate Ivan Babic was frustrated by Kedah’s solid wall of defence.
Kedah almost leveled the score in the 21st minute when they were awarded a free kick just outside the Crocs’ box but goalkeeper Sani Anuar Kamsani saved the day after he safely tucked the ball which passed the defence line. Last night’s match was said to be robust and hard tackling with three players including one from Sarawak were given the yellow cards by the referee.
The win against Kedah did not make any difference to the Crocs’ second position in the overall Premier League standings even though sharing similar points with current leader, Sime Darby. The table topper defeated PDRM 3 – 2 last night to maintain the lead based on the goals scored difference.
Chief coach, Robert Alberts expressed his satisfaction on the Crocs’ per formance and commended the players for soaking in the pressure by the hard tackling desperate visitors who were sent home packing empty handed.
Sarawak will again meet Kedah in their away game to be held at Stadium Darul Aman on April 12 and it will be interesting to see on how the reception will be when the two worthy opponents lock horns there.