Amri (left) started for Sabah FC in the pre-season friendly against Sarawak United on Sunday.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah FC kick-started their pre-season games with a 1-1 draw against Sarawak United at the PKNS Stadium on Sunday.
Veteran striker Bobby Gonzales scored on his first game back for his homestate team with cooly struck penalty kick in the 46th minute.
However, Sarawak United fought back to level the score from another spot kick that South Korean import Lee Chang Hoon converted on 75 minutes.
Head coach Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto was particularly glad with how the Rhinos performed after a long pause due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In fact, the game marked the first time that Sabah had played against quality opponents since Super League tie againts Johor FC in early October last year.
“Frankly, I am satisfied with how the players performed (as a team)…they did well to play according to the game plan.
“We started the game with Park (Tae Su) as our only foreign import but I’m pleased that all the players played to our expectation, especially in the first half as well as in the opening 10 minutes of the second period.
Park (right) is the only foreign import in action for Sabah FC against Sarawak United.
“After that we made substitutions as planned so as to give the rest of the players some match exposure and game time.
“Overall, they did well and showed the good efforts on the field,” said Kurniawan after the game.
In the match, Kurniawan also gave veteran signing Amri Yahya a first start since signing for the Rhinos last week and along with Park they were the only two non-Sabahan footballers.
Sabah were the better side in the first half but were unlucky with the numerous chances they created, including efforts from Hamran Peter that struck the goal post and Bobby saw his shot rattled the crossbar.
The goal did come when Sarawak United conceded a penalty and Bobby stepped up to confidently struck beyond the reach of the opposing goalkeeper.
Sarawak United replied on the 75th minute though when Evan Wensley Wenceslaus was penalised for handball offence and Lee struck low and hard to find the bottom right corner.
“There are some mistakes that we need to rectify but I’m not going to blame anyone on the penalty incident. This is among the risk of being a defender where one mistake could lead to a goal.
“What we need to do is to keep improving at the back and like I said, I’m satisfied with our overall performance.
“The players showed great fighting spirit and in a real match, it is not as if I’m going to make many substitions in the second half.
“This is a friendly game and a good opportunity for the players to get match exposure. Furthermore, our opponents are a quality side with many have Super League experience.
“This is good for their (Sabah players) mentality and hopefully the players including the goalkeepers will further improve and have more confident with more friendly matches,” he said.
Sabah will conclude their pre-season games in the Peninsular Malaysia against Kuala Lumpur United FC at the Cheras Stadium tonight.