KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah coach Ong Kim Swee believes the Rhinos have the potential to go the distance in their ongoing AFC Cup campaign.
Sabah received a boost by winning their opening Group H with a 3-1 win over Singapore's Hougang United at Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, on a rainy Thursday night.
Goals from Gabriel Peres (fifth minute) and Darren Lok (38th and 63rd minutes) secured the win for Sabah, while Hougang responded through Kazuma Takayama in the 61st minute.
"It's a positive start. We won the match despite the less-than-ideal pitch conditions due to heavy rainfall," said Kim Swee after the match.
"However, we still need to fix our game, especially our finishing. Scoring goals is crucial for progressing to the next stage."
Meanwhile, Hougang United coach Marko Kraljevic admitted that his side was second best.
"We tried to put pressure on Sabah, but they were simply better today," Kraljevic said.
Sabah will continue their AFC Cup campaign by facing Indonesia's PSM Makassar on Oct 5 and Vietnam's Hai Phong on Oct 25.
In the meantime, they will focus on the Malaysia Cup quarter-final return-leg match against Perak on Monday.