Late goal gives Sarawak one point at home [with video]

The Crocs narrowly managed to escape from another defeat thanks to a late goal from import striker Ndumba Makeche.

Playing in front of their home fans after the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) agreed to postpone the empty stadium fine, the Crocs earned a corner kick after Gilmar Jose’s shot on goal was deflected off a Kedah defender. The corner was a fruitless effort with Hairol heading it high above the bar.

Gilmar was again involved in the thick of the action again six minutes later but his individual effort went sideways by a whisker.

Kedah countered Sarawak’s surging attack with a long range shot by Baddrol Baktiar, but like another effort which opened for Sandro Silva, it was easy for Shahril Sa’ari.

In the 19th minute, Makeche almost changed the scoreboard digits, but his shot on goal was saved by goalkeeper Farhan Abu Bakar.

In the 23rd minute, good build up play by Sarawak almost gave the Crocs the lead, but the finishing touch by Junior Aperacido was disappointing.

Sandro yet again troubled the defenses of Sarawak but both occasions saw the defences of the Crocs clear the ball out of danger.

Kedah thought they have took the lead in the 31st minute when the ball touched the back of the Sarawak’s net. However, the referee ruled the goal as invalid due to a foul .

It was end to end football from then on with the Crocs and Kedah both guilty of missing some very good chances.

After the breather, Kedah improved their attacking efforts and came close to score numerous times. However, the superb agility of Shahril kept the score stagnant.

A counter attack by the Crocs almost resulted in a goal in the 53rd minute, but Gilmar’s shot was blocked by a fruitless corner.

In the 66th minute, captain of the Crocs Hairol Mokhtar had to be stretched out due to an injury, giving Shreen Tambi entry into the game.

The Crocs piled up the pressure as time came close to the full 90-minutes, but the best chance Sarawak obtained for the night came through a free kick by Junior which unfortunately hit the bar.

Kedah replied with a fast counter attack, and unmarked Mohd Farhan made no mistake to push in an easy goal for the visiting side after the defenders of the Crocs were left ball watching.

The Crocs then switched to ‘gung ho – all out of atack’ mode with Davide Grassi leaving his defensive role at the back to surge forward with Gilmar and company.

The tactics worked as Makeche finally scored the equalizer by bravely going after a 50-50 chance in the dying minutes of the game, putting both sides back square, and earning one point each for the night.

Final score:
FT Sarawak (M90+2 Makeche Ndumba) 1-1 Kedah (M84 Mohd Farhan Roslan)