PETALING JAYA: Paulo Josue has equalled the Kuala Lumpur all-time goalscoring record, but he wished he could have broken the record against Sabah.
The captain marvel of the City Boys scored a superb free-kick in his team’s 3-0 Super League win over Sabah on Wednesday for his 67th goal – going level with legendary Singaporean Fandi Ahmad, who scored his goals for Kuala Lumpur between 1986 and 1989.
The 35-year-old striker scored the free-kick from 25m out in the 61st minute at the Cheras Football Stadium but could have beaten Fandi’s mark had he not missed a penalty earlier in the 45th minute.
“It is nice to equal Fandi’s record but there are many games left in the league, so I am not too concerned about breaking it,” said Josue, who joined the club in 2017.
“It will come when it comes. As a striker, I want to help my team win games by scoring or assisting.
“As for the penalty, I do not know what I was thinking at the time. It was my worst penalty. Luckily, I came back with the free-kick.”
The other goals for Kuala Lumpur were an own goal from Sabah wingback Ko Kwang-min (45th minute) and a superb finish from midfielder Zhafri Yahya (87th).
The win was also made easier when Sabah were down to 10 men after centreback Rawilson Batuil was sent-off after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check that showed him deliberately handling the ball in the penalty box.
The Klang Valley club, who moved to third in the league with 11 points from six games, are seeing their best start to season after 35 years with three wins, two draws and a defeat.
Their last best run after six matches was in 1989 when they won four games, drew one and lost one in the Semi-Pro Division One. They finished second in the league.
This is also the first time they have kept four consecutive clean sheets in a league tournament in 27 years. The last time they did so was in 1997.
“Thank God, everything went well. Offensively and defensively, it went well. It became easier when Sabah had the red card. Now we are third, which is good,” he said.
“This momentum has to continue. In nine days’ time, we play Terengganu in Cheras.”
