The Fijian champions defeated a heavily-favoured Koloale FC side 2-1 at Lawson Tama Stadium in Honiara thanks to a double from Australian import Matthew Mayora.
The new man in charge was happy with how his side played and was pleased to see them adopt a ruthless streak.
“We had only two good chances and took them both,” he says.
Lautoka president Shalen Prasad says the win had a lot to do with the expertise of Singh, who is the fifth person to take up the club’s coaching hot seat in the past 13 months.
“We were confident about our chances, having won on the same ground last year,” Prasad says. “But we were worried the combination between the overseas-based players and local players might not click. The coach made it work and this win was all thanks to his insight and vision.”
Singh has been brought in specifically to coach the Blues in their O-League campaign and arrives on the back of a period of instability. Dennis Singh was removed as coach prior to the Inter District Competition (IDC) last year and was swiftly followed by Imdad Ali and Nicholas Rounds.
New Zealand-based Bob Ganesh replaced Rounds for the IDC earlier this month but talks with Gurjit Singh about the O-League role had already taken place before the final round of the National Football League in September. Prasad says the club is still negotiating with Ganesh about his future.
Singh can only take charge of Lautoka’s O-League games because he also holds the main coaching role with fellow Fijian side Navua.
“I have told the Lautoka officials to discuss my position with Navua president Anil Sharma,” he told the Fiji Times newspaper.
“Lautoka requested my help to prepare for the O-League so here I am.”
The Blues are in Group A of the 2011 O-League and share the lead with Vanuatu side Amicale, who posted a surprise 2-1 win over FIFA Club World Cup respresentatives Hekari United in Port Moresby on Saturday.
Lautoka meet Amicale in their next O-League encounter at Churchill Park on November 13.