Safuwan comes to LionsXII’s rescue once again

IPOH — Fandi Ahmad’s desperate gamble to go for goal in the dying minutes paid off handsomely tonight (March 25) as the LionsXII scored in injury time to record a hard-fought 1-0 away win against Perak in a Malaysian Super League clash.

Central defender Safuwan Baharudin emerged as the hero once again when he rose high in the 93rd minute to power home striker Khairul Amri’s cross to give the LionsXII their second straight win after their 2-1 home win over PKNS Selangor on Saturday.

The result means that the LionsXII, who started the game in eighth spot, have pushed themselves back into the MSL title race as the three points have enabled them to climb to fifth in the table.

Fandi had pushed Safuwan up into the heart of the LionsXII attack in the 75th minute after the Singapore side failed to break down a resolute Perak side whose gritty performance in front of 10,000 fans belied their second-from-bottom status in the MSL.

Indeed, before Safuwan’s winner, there was little goalmouth action to separate the two sides last night.

In fact, the LionsXII could have even been a goal down in the 68th minute when Perak’s Myanmar midfielder Kyaw Zayar Win forced LionsXII keeper Izwan Mahmud into brilliantly tipping his scorching freekick over the bar.

The LionsXII could have scored in the 72nd minute themselves when Perak defender Martin Kafando, who hails from Burkina Faso, almost scored an own goal.

With the minutes, ticking away, Fandi found himself having to play the Safuwan card once again, and in the end, it paid off handsomely.

The LionsXII will now be hoping to record their third straight win this Saturday when they host T-Team at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Other results:

ATM 0 Terengganu 3; Kelantan 1 Johor DT 2; PKNS 1 Pahang 3; Sarawak 0 Selangor 2; T-Team 2 Sime Darby 0