Selangor 1 LionsXII 1

Source

by alywin chew

11:11 PM Feb 08, 2012

The LionsXII got off to a slow start against old rivals Selangor and the Malaysian side dominated heavily with their passing in the early stages of the game. However, LionsXII defender Baihakki Khaizan produced his side's best chance on 18 minutes.

Saiful Esah crossed into the penalty area from a freekick and Baihakki latched onto the ball, unleashing a shot that was blocked and subsequently cleared to safety by the organised Selangor defence.

Selangor's Azidan Sarudin then tested LionsXII goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud with a good long range effort, but the Singaporean youngster did well to save.

The Singapore side grew in confidence towards the end of the first half, holding onto possession with intricate passing moves and their efforts paid off in the 44th minute when captain Shahril Ishak shrugged off his defenders in the area to create space before slamming home from point blank range.

The goal immediately stirred the Selangor team and the hosts took just over a minute to equalise with a brilliant shot by Govandar Gurusamy that was delivered with so much power Izwan was still rooted to the spot when the ball flew into the top corner.

The second half started off at a frenetic pace and Selangor came close to scoring in the 53rd min. Captain Safiq Rahim burst into the penalty area unchallenged and forced a good save from Izwan. The rebound fell to Amri Yahyah who miscued the ball and sent it wide.

The LionsXII provided little resistance after the restart and Selangor took the opportunity to pile on even more pressure down the flanks but their crosses were largely poor and ineffective.

Sufian Anuar came on for Agu Casmir in the 67th min and he came close to scoring the LionsXII's best chance in the second half with a tame header that Selangor goalkeeper Norazlan Razali easily smothered.

Towards the end of the match, the LionsXII defended in numbers and frustrated a Selangor side which looked desperate for the winner with numerous wayward shots from range.

Shahril was substituted in injury time to run the clock down as Sevki Sha'ban came on. Almost immediately, Selangor's Amri found himself in the area with the last chance of the game but he was quickly swarmed by Singaporean defenders.

In the end, the LionsXII were rewarded for their solid defence with a point, but based on a second half performance which saw them on their back foot most of the time, their attack left much to be desired.