KCFC, KL City held to a 1-1 draw
(KL) City FC had to settle for a point after going down to 10 men during their 1-1 draw against Kuching City FC in the Super League match at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras on Sunday.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was in the spotlight during two crucial incidents, one involving Kuching City’s equaliser in the 14th minute and a red card for KL City’s new defender Adrijan Rudovic in the 39th minute.
KL City coach Miroslav Kuljanac also received an early blow after senior defender Mohamad Kamal Azizi Mohamad Zabri had to be stretchered off and replaced by J. Partiban in the fourth minute due to an injury sustained in a clash with an opponent.
“I think he (Kamal Azizi) broke his hand, I’m not sure (waiting for further check-up),” Kuljanac said.
However, The City Boys squad managed to open the scoring through captain Paulo Josue who scored a beautiful goal with a shot from outside the penalty box in the 12th minute, before Kuching City’s equaliser through Yuki Tanigawa’s finish two minutes later was cancelled.
Referee S.Logeswaran made the decision after doing a review on the fieldside monitor.
The decision did not dampen the spirit of the visiting team coached by Aidil Sharin Sahak, as Pedro Henrique’s goal in the 19th minute got them back to level terms.
VAR was once again involved as Logeswaran overturned the yellow card given to Rudovic and issued a red card to him following a dangerous challenge on Kuching City’s forward Jordan Minta in the 34th minute after a review on the monitor.
KL City coach was happy with the determination and resilience shown by his players to at least get a point from that game.
“It was a very difficult game… in the end, I’m happy we got a point. I say this game was hard because I had to change Kamal Azizi because of an injury. We then scored a goal and were leading… but the red card changed everything,” said the 53year-old coach. – Bernama