Sabah were crowned the king of football at the 15th Sukma Games after their demolition of favourite Perak 3-0 in the final held at the Darul Makmur Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a historic feat for the team as they turned on the power in the extra time with three great goals that settled the absorbing tie.
The match went into extra time after 90 minutes of play when both teams failed to find the net. And it was barely a minute after the start of the extra time when second half substitute Zulmansyah broke the deadlock with a first timer courtesy of a perfect weighted lop from Leopold Alfonso.
He then returned the favour six minutes later when his clever dummy freed Leopold before the latter dribbled past a defender and beat the keeper with an angled shot for the second goal. The goal clearly broke Perak players spirit and Rozaimie who played in a deeper position in the second half had a simple task of placing in the third goal after a good work done by Zulmansyah who passed the ball to him from the centre.
It was a fantastic win for Sabah after their disappointment in the President Cup where they failed to get past the quarter-final stage. To beat the President Cup Champion as well as the winner in the national Under-19 champion is a clear indication that they are among the best in the country.
Their superior physical fitness over their opponent was evident in the match and credit must be given to the two coaches Johnny Dominicus and Matasan Ahmad who dedicated so much effort to train the players. Not forgetting also the tireless motivation given by team manager Alijus Sipil that paid handsome dividends to the success of the team. The success of the state juniors also augur well for the future of Sabah football as all the players showed that they were equally good, if not better than some of the current senior players and the Sabah FA must act fast before other states scoop some of the players under their nose.
Daily Express.
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