Ong Kim Swee
KOTA KINABALU (March 2): Sabah FC clinched a second straight Liga Super win on Wednesday but Datuk Ong Kim Swee was a little disappointed after Kelantan United FC scored a late consolation goal.
The Rhinos ran out 3-1 victorious at the Likas Stadium thanked to first half goals from Darren Lok and Park Tae Su as well as Telmo Castanheira’s headed effort at the start of the second half.
However, the gloss was taken off the scoreline when veteran forward Indra Putra Mahayuddin came off the bench to score a well-struck free kick in the second minute of added on time and denied the Rhinos a clean sheet.
“We won another three points which was important but I’m not too pleased with the way we played when we were in the lead, which led to conceding the late goal.
“The players must try to prevent letting in goals in such situation … I believed they were being careless.
“Nevertheless, like I said earlier the most important thing is that we got the win and now focus on getting improved for the next fixture,” said Kim Swee, the manager-cum-head coach of Sabah FC.
Having said that, Kim Swee also reminded the players to always be ready when the need arises to maintain their level of play on the pitch.
“For me that is what we need to improve on,” he said referring to substitutions during game.
“Every player who comes on must make sure to maintain the team’s playing pattern and they must not take things lightly even when we have the advantage.
“Everyone in the team must share the responsibility. I don’t want to see a player shine in two or three matches but fade away after that … consistency is the key,” he added.
Sabah FC will now turn their focus to the match with Kuching City FC on March 6, which will be their first away fixture of the campaign.
“It will be different playing away from home but we will prepare as usual.
“What we need to do is to make sure we are at the top of our form and to be ready for the challenges ahead of us,” Kim Swee said.
Meanwhile, Kelantan United FC head coach Tomas Trucha believed Sabah FC can be genuine contenders to Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the current campaign.
“For me, it’s the only team now who can compete with JDT.
“With all respect to Selangor, Kedah, Terengganu, Pahang and other teams, Sabah FC are already on the level (of JDT) and it will be nice to see the teams come face-to-face in the league,” said Trucha after the game.