Rhinos rebound with 3-0 win
KOTA KINABALU: Spirits are soaring as Sabah ended the rot with a 3-0 win over UiTM FC in the Premier League match at Shah Alam Stadium on Thursday night.
The Rhinos turned things around after going seven matches without a win and head coach Jelius Ating said the convincing performance was everything he had hoped for to turn it around after a sour run.
“It wasn’t easy being caught in a winless run for so many matches. We lost four games and drew three times before we could finally bounce back with this 3-0 win.
“The effort from the players helped produce a winning performance and I believe it has ignited their spirits to chase for more wins after this,” Jelius said when contacted here yesterday.
The match saw Sabah come out blazing as defender Francis Kasonde scored the first goal just nine minutes into the game before midfielder Sabri Sahar doubled the lead 20 minutes later.
After the break, Puerto Rican striker Hector Ramos struck in the 58th minute to seal Sabah’s first win since their last 3-1 victory against the same opponent at the Likas Stadium on April 10.
Meanwhile, on the return of Rodoljub Paunovic, Jelius said he was satisfied and looked forward to more good stuff from the striker.
Although the Serbian player did not score on his debut, Jelius said his teammates would agree that he made a huge impact on the team’s showings in front of the goal.
“He really worked hard in the game and he opened up space for his teammates to score and I was really happy to see that.
“He definitely made an impact on the team’s performance. We struggled to score before this where we couldn’t win in seven matches but tonight, we won big and to me that says it all,” he said.
Nonetheless, Jelius said he credited everybody for working hard to get the win.
The result, however, did not change Sabah’s position in the standings. They remain at fifth place on 18 points after four wins, four defeats and six draws.
Sabah will continue their Premier League challenge in a home match against MISC-MIFA at the Likas Stadium on June 20.