No way in: Sabah goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat manages to punch the ball out during the Super League match against Kelantan. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: Sabah goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat had expected brickbats after saving a penalty shot against his former club Kelantan.
Instead, Khairul received a heart-warming reception.
On Friday, Khairul and Co defeated Kelantan 3-2 in an entertaining game in front of appreciative fans at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium.
Khairul denied Kelantan striker Valdumar Te’s penalty in the 40th minute to help the Rhinos etch their first win of the season despite the strong challenge from the Golden Deer, who had pushed until the end.
Sabah first got the lead in the 25th minute when Brazilian centreback Gabriel Peres finished off a superb corner that went through between Indonesian winger Saddil Ramdani and South Korean wingback Ko Kwang-min.
Kelantan equalised in the 55th minute through South Korean centreback Kim Lik-hwan, but the Rhinos got the lead again through a superb long-range finish from midfielder Stuart Wilkin in the 63rd minute.
The third was scored by Brazilian striker Ramon Machado in the 69th minute.
The home side then reduced the deficit through South Korean winger Bae Kyeong-hwan in the 90th minute but it was too little too late for Kelantan in their search for an equaliser.
The 35-year-old Khairul paid tribute to the Kelantan fans as he played for the state from 2009 to 2018.
“Kota Baru will always be home and my stint here would be an important part of my career. It was nice to play in front of the crowd and produce such a performance. It brought back old memories for me,” said Khairul.
“The penalty save indeed felt good, especially in front of the Kelantan fans.
“It is nice to see a packed stadium, in fact the people were warming up to the team.”
His time in Kelantan was memorable as he won the Malaysia Cup title twice in 2010 and 2012, the Super League in 2011 and 2012 and the FA Cup in 2012 and 2013.
Khairul, who won the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2010 with Malaysia, however, knows his responsibility with Sabah.
“My professional duties lie with Sabah, and I am glad we got the three points. First two games, four points, it is a decent start.”
Sabah coach Ong Kim Swee however was unhappy.
“It is good to win and score three goals. But I was not satisfied when we conceded the second goal because it came from a setpiece,” said Kim Swee.
“This is our weakness, players did not control the game. We should not be lackadaisical when we are leading.”
Kelantan coach Park Jae-hong wants his side to move on from the defeat.
“It is a tough defeat but we move on. I’m not going to blame the players, it’s a process, we will continue to improve game by game,” said Jae-hong.
“We will take on Terengganu next.
“We want to win though we know the task will not be easy because they are one of the best sides in the league.”
