Sarawak’s Mohd Ibrahim Jobeli vying for the ball with Sabah’s Jenius Karib during the match yesterday.
ARAU: Sarawak have to wait until their next match against Perlis tomorrow (May 28) to know their fate in this year’s Sukma football competition.
This was because they were beaten 0-1 by defending champions Sabah yesterday.
It was the second group match for the Young Crocs who had earlier beaten Pahang 3-1.
Sabah did not look like the team which took 2012 Sukma gold despite retaining most of their players from two years ago.
It was a shaky performance by Sabah yesterday despite them having to win badly to keep their hopes of defending their gold medal alive.
The slim victory, with the solitary goal coming in the dying minutes of the match, may be attributed to Sabah’s greater experience and Sarawak’s poor finishing.
Sarawak coach Johnny Dominicus was philosophical despite the loss.
“I am never prepared to lose any match against any team competing in this year’s Sukma … but if we lose, we must lose with dignity like we did against Sabah today,” he said.
The journey ahead for the Young Crocs will now depend on their next match against Perlis and Sabah’s tie against Pahang tomorrow.
The top two teams in the group will move on to the quarter-finals.
Yesterday’s match was played at the Perlis UiTM Rani Football Field which is one of the venues for the Sukma football competition.