Viking 4-1 Sabah: result and report

Report

Viking beat Sabah 4-1 and deserved to, though the scoreline hides how long this stayed in the balance.

Orphé Mbina put Sabah ahead on 11 minutes from Umarali Rakhmonaliev's pass. Viking replied on 27 minutes when Erik Botheim scored from Kristoffer Haugen's assist. After that, the game stayed at 1-1 until midway through the second half.

The decisive spell started on 69 minutes. Zlatko Tripic missed a penalty, but he scored in the same minute to put Viking 2-1 up. Eight minutes later Aden McCarthy was sent off, which left Sabah chasing the game with ten men. Tripic then set up Henrik Falchener on 81 minutes. Botheim added his second four minutes into stoppage time, from a pass by substitute Peter Christiansen.

Tripic was at the centre of almost every turning point. He missed the penalty, scored the goal that broke the deadlock and created the third. The miss could have been costly, yet within the same minute it stopped mattering.

The win was not a product of the scoreline alone, because Viking created clearly the better chances. They finished with 2.96 xG to Sabah's 1.30. They also had eight shots on target to four and three big chances to one. Viking sustained far more attacking pressure as well, with 63 dangerous attacks to Sabah's 40.

Still, the final margin needs some context. Viking were only one goal ahead when McCarthy was dismissed, and two of their four goals came against ten men. For an hour, Sabah stayed in the contest despite creating less.