Negri salvage a tough point
Sarawak’s NEGRI Sembilan came from behind twice to salvage a point against a determined Penang in their opening Malaysia Games football match yesterday.
The hot-tempered encounter saw Penang’s Syamer Kutty Abba giving his side the lead in the 16th minute and the northerners held onto their advantage going into the break at the Sarawak Sports Complex field.
Negri equalised through N. Thanabalan in the 51st and looked good for the win when Penang’s Hasrul Che Halim was sent off a
(left) lands a kick on Sabah’s minute later after being shown a second yellow.
Despite playing with only 10 men, it was Penang who took the lead once again through Junaidi Shafiai in the 60th but it was not to be for them as Thanabalan emerged the savior, nodding home a R. Gopinath corner a minute into injury time.
The match ended on a sour note as a brief brawl between players occurred just after the final whistle was blown.
The match officials, however, quickly regained control of the situation
in their finweight final in Kuching yesterday. and both sets of players lined up to shake hands.
With only three teams in Group D, Negri only have to draw with defending champions Perak, who earlier beat Penang 1-0, tomorrow to progress to the quarterfinals.
Negri coach Ahmad Fairuz Mohd Yunus said he was dissatisfied with both the performance of his players as well as referee Izzat Izani Ali.
“Being our first game, we did take some time to warm up and to be honest, I am quite relieved we have taken a point,” said Fairuz.
“We were a little careless at times and our defensive mistakes made it a hard match for us. But on the other hand, I am pleased with the boys’ fighting spirit. There were a few lunging tackles where the referee just played an advantage.
“This happened on a few occasions and this added to the tension between the two teams. He should have been more strict with the players.”
Fairuz added that his team will go all out for the win against Perak, a team he believes have a similar playing style to Negri.
Negri had lost at the quarter-final stage of the tournament in Perlis two years ago.