Shahril Ishak fires LionsXII into the lead (Goal.com/Zeng Liwei)
By Khariul Nizam (Goal.com)
A disappointing turnout did not hamper the mood for Selangor and LionsXII who fought out a competitive 1-1 draw in Bukit Jalil Stadium.
Selangor was without their foreign signings Ramez Dayoub and Basko Balaban who were still awating their International Transfer Certificate while LionsXII had a near full-strength side that also included Baihakki Khaizan. Madhu Mohana meanwhile made his debut partnering Baihakki in the heart of defence.
Selangor started strongly with Safiq Rahim testing Izwan Mahbud with a freekick inside the opening ten minutes. The home side then carved open Singapore's back line again through a brilliant link-up play between Safiq and Fitri Shazwan but the former's shot in the end was straight at the LionsXII custodian.
Singapore finally tested Selangor goalkeeper Norazlan Razali on 19 minutes. A deep cross fell to Baihakki and his shot to the near post was well-blocked by the custodian who then denied Agu Casmir immediately after, snatching a looping header from slipping under the crossbar.
But the breakthrough finally came two minutes from the break. A deep cross was allowed to float by Shahril who was offside but picked up by Raihan Rahman at the far post. The midfielder then cut the ball back to the Lions captain who sidestepped his marker before brilliantly powering home from the centre of the penalty box, leaving nothing that Norazlan Razali could have done.
Selangor however pulled level almost immediately after. In injury time Amri Yahyah laid off for K.Gurusamy and his first-time volley from outside the penalty box bulged the netting as Izwan stood rooted to his spot.
The second-half was a relative muted affair as the two evenly matched teams cancelled each other out. Safiq and Amri had the two best chances, with the former seeing his one-on-one effort thwarted by Izwan near the hour mark while Amri passed on a free-header infront of goal in the final ten minutes of play.
It was another disappointing night for Irfan Bakti and the Red Giants as they moved further away from the leading pack but for the LionsXII, the draw would be a valuable point earned.
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