A Liridon Krasniqi-inspired Kedah side spoiled the party for Selangor by nailing a 2-2 draw in what was a highly-entertaining affair at the MP Selayang Stadium.
Selangor initially fielded a strong starting eleven, with Rob Cornthwaite returning for the Red Giants. But Zainal Abidin’s men were dealt with a minor blow during warm-up as Razman Roslan picked up a knock, forcing a change in their defensive strategy. Raimi Nor was brought on to replace him at left back.
Predictably, the change had an impact on Selangor’s tempo in the first few minutes of the game, with Kedah dominating possession, spraying passes comfortably all around the pitch. Their early domination eventually led to an early goal as Syazwan Zainon netted his third goal of the season, with a fine finish from the edge of the box, to make it 1-0 on the night.
The goal gave Kedah the necessary impetus to continue dominating the midfield battle, with Nazmi and Hafiz Kamal in particular, looking helpless against the physically superior Liridon Krasniqi. Tan Cheng Hoe’s side carved out several key opportunities, but they were denied by Norazlan Razali on most occassions.
But Selangor slowly got into the game, and switched their strategy. They started sitting back, allowing Kedah to dictate the tempo. In return, Zainal’s men were looking to hit Kedah on the counter – something that eventually happened on the 31st minute. Nazmi produced a defence-splitting pass to find Azrif, who flicked it onto the path of Gopinathan. The onrushing fullback made no mistakes by firing home to restore parity.
Merely a minute after that, Selangor claimed the lead. This time around, a counter-attack that was initiated by Azrif Nasrulhaq, found Gopinathan with space down the right flank. The ex-Pahang man pressed forward, before delivering a teasing cross into the six-yard area. Ronaldinho and a couple of Kedah defenders eventually scrambled it home, sending the entire stadium into frenzy mode.
The goal meant that momentum was now on Selangor’s side and they were more than happy to sit back and wait for Kedah to bring the game to them. To their credit, Cheng Hoe’s men did push harder, though the new-found confidence allowed Selangor to be a lot more composed at the back. Despite a flurry of half-chances, the score remained 2-1 as the game went into half-time.
After the break though, Kedah upped their tempo, with Sandro playing slightly higher on the pitch, allowing Liridon to drop deeper and influence play. But with Zainal’s men sitting deep as a unit, Kedah were left frustrated in the first 20 minutes of the half.
Carlos Kahe had a half-chance on the 57th minute though it was cleared away to safety by Rob Cornthwaite. Moments later, Syazwan Zainon’s shot from outside the box, was tipped away by Norazlan Razali.
That being said, Kedah ultimately got their coveted equalizer on the 67th mark. Moments prior to that, an excellent build-up play allowed Kahe to seize control of the ball inside the box, though he was immediately brought down, forcing the referee to point to the spot. Sandro stepped up and duly dispatched the spot-kick to make it 2-2 on the night.
Zainal Abidin responded immediately by bringing on S. Veenod and Hazwan Bakri to bolster their attack. The surprising bit however, was the withdrawal of Andik Vermansyah, who was arguably their most influential player on the pitch.
But the change almost paid dividends on the 86th minute as Hazwan Bakri found himself in a prime position inside the box, though his attempt was slightly wide off target, much to the dismay of Selangor faithfuls within the ground. Though both sides frantically pushed for the winner, the score line remained 2-2 as the referee blew the final whistle.
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