Kota Kinabalu: Sabah FC could have won with a bigger margin in their 3-1 victory over Huogang United FC in this season’s AFC Cup Group H opener tie at Likas Stadium on Thursday night.
The team missed plenty of scoring opportunities to punish the Singapore Premier League side in a one-sided game.
Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said after the match that they need to sort out their finishing if they are to progress far in the competition.
“It was a positive start in our campaign, but there is still room for improvement especially on the finishing if we are to progress to the next stage.
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Sabah FC started brightly in the match played under a downpour and Gabriel Peres headed in the opener in the fifth minute from a long delivery by Daniel Ting.
The second goal came from Darren Lok who was at the right spot to tap in the ball after the oppositions’ goalkeeper failed to make a clean catch in the 38th minute.
The visitors were given a lifeline in the 62nd minute when Takayama Kazuma’s header was judged to have crossed the line despite strong protest from Rhinos goalkeeper Damien Lim.
However, their joy only lasted less than a minute as Darren restored Sabah FC’s two-goal lead with a close range header from a perfect ball by Park Taesu.
Ong was delighted with the win despite having to tweak his tactical approach during the game due to the weather.
“The muddy and slippery conditions of the field had in some extent affected our tactical plan for the match.
“But we managed to get goals through set pieces and credit also to the players for their determination to regain the advantage after conceding the goal and kept their discipline after to maintain the lead.”
He also praised the fans who attended the match despite the rain.
“The presence of supporters is very important for us in every game we play, especially here in Likas in order to give motivation to the players,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Huogang United coach Marko Kraljevic admitted that his team were just not good enough on the night.
“Congratulation to the Sabah team. They were better than us today and put us under a lot of pressure.
“We were just second best in every department. Although the goal scored in the second half gave us hope, to concede almost immediately killed off the game,” he said.
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