KUCHING: Muhammad Asraff Aliffuddin Yasin helped Kelantan United earn a point with a last gasp equaliser against hosts Kuching City FC in a Malaysia Super League match which ended 1-1 last night.
The match exploded into life right from the first whistle when Green Deer captain Indra Putra Mahayuddin pounced on a failed clearance by Il Gatto defender Mihailo Jovanović with a close range shot inside the box but his effort was thwarted by Kuching City’s custodian Julian Schwarzer.
Irfan Bakti Abu Salim’s men, targeting to stop a five-game losing streak, fought back and Uzbek midfielder Sirojiddin Kuziev had two chances in the eighth and 11th minute from 20 yards out but both of his free kicks failed to hit the target, with the first inches wide and crashing into the side netting with half of the stadium thinking it went in, and later another strike just inches too high above the crossbar.
Kuching City kept piling on the pressure and in the 16th minute, Japanese midfielder Yuki Tanigawa latched onto a throw-in from the right as he lashed a half-volley from 25 yards out into the clutches of Kelantan United goalie Muhamad Ilham Amirullah Razali.
Three minutes later, there was a bit of a déjà vu as Jovanović failed to clear a dangerous ball in the box and Indra Putra pounced again but unfortunately, he skied his effort right in front of the six-yard box into the stadium’s front row seat.
The Green Deer had two consecutive chances to break the deadlock just before half time but Muhammad Haziq Mohd Subri could not keep his shot down to hit the target in the 37th minute, and later Jose Elmer Porteria’s long range strike from 25 yards out went inches wide from the post in the 43rd minute.
Kuching City came out of the tunnel with life in the second half and won a penalty not too long after the restart when Kuziev was brought down in the box by Kelantan United defender Muhammad Fauzan Mohd Fauzi.
Kuziev stood back up and converted the penalty with a fine strike into the top right corner to put Il Gatto 1 up in the 51st minute.
With their backs against the wall, Kelantan United started to bombard forward in search of an equaliser as Kuching City started to drop back to hold on to their lead in the final 20 minutes.
Muhammad Haziq had two separate efforts to level things up in the 75th minute and 80th minute but his first shot at the edge of the box sailed high above the crossbar and later his free kick from 25 yards out suffered the same fate over the crossbar.
Just when it looked like the Green Deer were about to go home empty handed, their determination bore fruits near the end of the match as Kuching City were caught napping while defending the last corner of the game. Muhammad Asraff managed to shake off his marker to steer a looping header into Schwarzer’s net to earn themselves a point in the final moments.
With their first point in six games, Kuching City managed to climb above Kelantan FC, — who lost heavily against Terengganu FC by 0-5 — into 12th position with four points.
Kelantan United are still rooted to the foot of the table with only two points gained so far this season.
