Sabah’s Alto Linus (left) trying his best to defend against Selangor captain Mohd Syahmi Safari in the Super League tie at Likas Stadium last night. – Photo credit Sabah FC Facebook
KOTA KINABALU: The decision to rest Indonesian trainer Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto did little wonder for Sabah FC as they succumbed to their heaviest defeat in the Super League at the Likas Stadium last night.
The Rhinos lost 6-0 with Selangor FC’s Nigerian-Bahraini professional footballer Ifedayo Omosuyi registering a hattrick.
Mukhairi Ajmal, Nor Hakim Hassan and Ahmad Daniel Ahmad Asri were also in the scoresheet for the away team as the Rhinos’s winless run extended to nine matches.
Sabah FC went into the match under caretaker coach Burhan Ajui in place of the rested Kurniawan but unfortunately it failed to spark a revival from the Rhinos.
In fact, Sabah FC suffered setback inside five minutes of play when striker-in-chief Josip Ivancic suffered an injury and replaced by Rahman Shah Marajeh.
The night turned from bad to worse for when Omosuyi intercepted a lazy backpass from midfielder Azizzan Nordin before slotting past goalkeeper Robson Rendy Rining in the 22nd minute.
Omosuyi doubled the lead just two minutes later when he picked up a neat pass from Mein Mtet Aung before lifting the ball beyond the reach of Robson.
Selangor continued to pile the pressure on the hosts and were rewarded with the third goal in the dying minue of the first half through Mukhairi Ajmal who send a rising shot from inside the box to beat Robson.
Burhan sent on former national under-23 striker N Thanabalan for his first appearance of the season in place of Rahman at the start of the second half but the move did little to help Sabah to get back on track.
Instead, Selangor went four-nil up one minute into the second half action.
Nor Hakim, who replaced Mukhairi, raced onto a pinpoint pass before slotting past the exposed Rendy.
Saba FC best chance came on the hour-mark but Alto Linus and Amri Yahya both saw their efforts hit the post in quick succession.
The missed opportunities proved costly as Selangor FC added two more goals late on.
Striker Ahmad Daniel was only in the pitch for a few minutes before he got his name among the goal scorer, as he raced onto a superb pass from Omosuyi before beating Robson from the edge of the box.
The current Super League top scorer Omosuyi then completed his hattrick towards the end of the game to complete a convincing win for the away side.