KOTA KINABALU: Sabah scored their third consecutive Super League win with a 5-2 win at home against Kedah in Likas Stadium yesterday.
Sabah opened accounts early with a second minute penalty by Saddil Ramdani after teammate Gabriel Peres was brought down by Rizal Ghazali in the penalty box. The score remained unchanged till the third minute of extra time before the break, when Kedah managed to equalise through a header by José Cleylton.
Sabah were raring to go in the second half, and took only three minutes to regain their lead through João Pedro, who tucked in a short pass from Daniel Ting in the 48th minute but Kedah managed to equalise again in the 68th minute when Milos Gordic's goal in a scuffle in front of Sabah's goal was confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
But Sabah did not relent and took the lead once again five minutes later through a brilliant lob by João Pedro at the end of a sprint that beat the offside trap set by Kedah's defence, his second goal of the match.
The home team did not look back after that, and S. Kumaahran scored their fourth goal in the 84th minute before Gary Steven Robbat crowned a great match with their fifth goal in injury time (90+3').
The win in front of 5,006 home fans means Sabah remains third with 23 points from 13 matches, just three points behind second-placed Selangor, Johor Darul Ta'zim are first with 34 points.
Kedah, meanwhile, languish at 10th place with 13 points from 13 matches.