Kota Kinabalu: It was a morale booster for Sabah FC following the Ramon Machado inspired 7-0 mauling of KL Rovers FC in the FA Cup at the Likas Stadium on Saturday night.
Head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee said the big victory was vital as the team prepared for the first round quarter-final tie against Terengganu FC away on June 28 with the return home leg set for July 4.
“It was a very good result. The 90 minutes of play was also important for the first team players to get enough playing time, as our next match will only be held on June 28 in the quarter-final.
“We managed to get a good number of goals tonight and I hope the players will maintain their momentum for the coming matches. Our focus is always one game at a time,” he said after the match.
Ramon (centre) jumps high to head in the third goal.
In a one-sided affair against the A1 Semi-Pro league team in the round of 16 match on Saturday, Sabah FC took a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.
As expected, they were without Darren Lok and Gabriel Peres, but it did not take long for them to score the opener in the 18th minute from a Saddil Ramdanni free kick.
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Ramon extended the lead in the 28th minute with a chip over KL Rovers’ goalkeeper Ahmad Asyraaf Omar before the Brazilian scored his second in the 44th minute with a header.
Skipper Park Tae-su then added the fourth in the 50th minute with a simple tap in before Ramon completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute with a right foot shot.
Jafri Chew, who started in place of the injured Darren, also made it on the score sheet in the 73rd minute with a close range strike following a throw in.
The seventh was an own goal conceded by Muhd Raffi Nagoorgani from Saddil’s cut back deep into injury time.
Meanwhile, Sabah FC’s quarter-final opponents Terengganu FC booked their spot with a 2-1 home win over Perak FC in the game held a day earlier.
