Sabah Kick Off Super League Campaign In Style By Beating Star City FC 3-1

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- Sabah FC made a flying start to this season's Super League campaign after defeating Star City FC 3-1 in their opening match at the Likas Stadium here tonight.

The Rhinos opened the scoring through defender Dane Ingham in the 26th minute after he skillfully finished off a through pass from Fadzrul Danel.

However, Star City FC did not wait long to equalise through a header by Rafael Vitor from a corner kick taken by Zulfahmi Ariffin three minutes later.

The hosts almost regained the lead in the 67th minute through an attempt by Park Jung-bin, but the goal was disallowed after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review by referee S. Logeswaran who found the player to be in an offside position.

National striker Darren Lok finally put Sabah FC back in front in the 89th minute after slipping through the opponent's defence to meet a quality cross provided by Fadzrul, who excelled with two assists tonight.

Park made up for his earlier disappointment by sealing the home team's victory in the 94th minute of stoppage time, finishing off a pass from Fayadh Zulkifli, who spearheaded a fast counterattack, before the goal was confirmed via a VAR review.

Sabah FC, guided by Head Coach Juan Torres Garrido, dominated much of the possession, but the resilience of Star City FC's defensive wall and goalkeeper Hafizul Hakim repeatedly denied Sabah FC's attempts.

The victory places Sabah FC in fourth place on the Super League table, while Star City FC, guided by Head Coach Mehmed Durakovic, sits in ninth place.

--BERNAMA