It was a result that made teams in Malaysia stand up definitely, because the newly crowned Malaysia Super League fell to their knees to Sarawak, Champions of the less illustrious Malaysia Premier League.
Lions XII, came to Kuching beaming with confidence but finally returned empty handed, with the Crocs securing maximum points, hence keeping their chances to move further in the Malaysia Cup wide open.
The game was well balanced throughout the first 45-minutes with both sides exchanging attacks. Sarawak took full advantage of the absence of Lions XII attacking midfielder Sharil Ishak as they dominated play with their fast attacks, while Lions XII were left shooting from a far.
In the 11th minute, the Crocs cracked the Super League Champions goal when a long throw-in by Ronny Harun was not handled well by the visiting team, resulting in Shakir Hamzahâs back pushing it into the back of the net for Sarawak to lead.
Lions tried their best to come back from a goal down, but it was Sarawak proving the more dangerous side with Lions players looking fragile with every body contact obtained.
The second half saw the Crocs looking more dangerous, but the Lions kept possession most of the time. Midfielder Shahril Ishak was introduced into the game but his menacing runs were easy for on-form Ramesh Lai and Ronny Harun.
Sarawak whom relied more on counter attacks continued to push when they could, and another long throw from Ronny Harun yet again proved vital for Sarawak.
This time Lions substitute Shahfiq Ghani foolishly caught Muamer Salibasic in the face during such a throw-in, hence prompting a penalty kick for the Crocs, which Joseph Kallang Tie converted with ease. The incident also caused Shahfiq to be red-carded, reducing the Lions to 10-men with 20 minutes left.
Sharil gathered his men after the goal, and Hariss Harun finally scored for Lions XII when he neatly headed in a wonderful cross from inside the box,. The goal however proved to be just a solitary goal for the Lions as defended well after that to deny more leaks.
Bobby Gonzales, who was rather quiet in the game almost got his name in the score sheet moments later, but his shot on goal was saved just before it crossed the goal line despite Izwan Mahbud being already defeated.
The referee finally called it a night after four minutes of extra time, creating history at Stadium Negeri as the mighty Super League champions were thought how to play football by East Malaysian side Sarawak.
The result means Sarawak move up to second as Perak and Kedah shared their spoils in Darul Aman Stadium.
