Malaysia Super League leaders LIONSXII's title hopes took another blow on Saturday as they threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Kedah.
By Gabriel Tan at the Jalan Besar Stadium
Shahril Ishak put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute when he scored from close range but he immediately had to be substituted after picking up a knock in the process and 11 minutes later, Khyril Muhymeen glanced home a header to level the scores.
Shahril's replacement, Sufian Anuar, then nodded the LIONSXII back in front in the 29th minute before centre-back Baihakki Khaizan added a third three minutes before the hour mark to give the hosts a comfortable lead.
However, Amar Rohidan and Vedran Gerc both scored long-range strikes in quick succession just after the hour mark to steal a share of the spoils for Wan Jamak Wan Hassan's charges.
Entering Saturday's game with only a five-point lead over second-placed Kelantan but having played four games more, V. Sundramoorthy's men were aware that nothing less than a win over Kedah would benefit their ailing title prospects.
Ten minutes in, the LIONSXII got off to a perfect start when a long throw from Madhu Mohana was flicked on by Baihakki towards the far post, straight into the path of Shahril who poked home at full stretch from two yards out to give his side the lead.
However, the effort took its toll on the LIONSXII skipper as he was unable to continue after reportedly dislocating his shoulder, and aware that their opponents had just lost their talisman, Kedah started to grow in confidence and carved out a good opening in the 20th minute. Sloppy play from Isa Halim allowed Khyril to steal in down the left and advance into the box, although the recovering Baihakki did well to nip the ball away before the 24-year-old could get a shot away.
Nonetheless, there was to be no denying the Kedah forward a minute later when he was picked out in the box by an excellent cross from Baddrol Bakhtiar and flicked a header into the bottom corner.
Given their height advantage, the LIONSXII were looking very dangerous from set-pieces; with Baihakki and Madhu giving the Hijau-Kuning backline all sorts of problems whenever they went forward. However, it was one of their smaller players that helped them regain the lead a minute before the half-hour mark.
Picking up the ball on the right, Juma'at Jantan did extremely well to beat his man before whipping a good cross into the box. Sufian, who is known for his aerial prowess despite his diminutive frame, made a darting run towards the near post and got in front of his marker before heading the ball past Helmi Eliza Elias to put the hosts back in front.
Nine minutes later, the 24-year-old almost turned provider when he played a fantastic crossfield ball straight to Khairul Amri, who cleverly made his way past an opponent but just failed to get the ball out from under his feet as he bore down on goal.
Four minutes after the break, the LIONSXII had another glorious chance to grab a third when Khairul Nizam played a delicate through-ball in between two defenders, only to see the onrushing Yasir Hanapi prod his shot wide with only Helmi to beat.
A minute later, Kedah were unlucky not to pull level when Abdelfatah Safi cleverly skipped past a couple of challenges before curling a shot that came smashing off the crossbar.
Despite that close shave, the LIONSXII continued to look the more dominant of the two sides, and duly went further ahead in the 57th minute when Shahdan Sulaiman swung in a terrific freekick straight to Baihakki, who left Helmi with no chance with a powerful header into the top corner.
However, just as the LIONSXII looked to have put themselves in a commanding position, the hosts hit back five minutes later when Gerc, who had been anonymous up till that point, broke down the left from a quick counter-attack before laying the ball off to an unmarked Amar, who rifled in a shot from the edge of the area.
Three minutes later, the scores were level again after Gerc picked up the ball from 25 yards out and unleashed a ferocious effort that flew straight into the bottom corner, beyond the despairing dive of Izwan Mahbud.
Stunned at having thrown away a lead twice, the LIONSXII started to push forward in search of a winner and wasted a good chance in the 73rd minute when no one was on hand to convert a dangerous cross by Shaiful Esah, after the left-back had done well to skip past his opponent on the left.
But despite the vociferous home crowd urging the LIONSXII on, it was Kedah who came closest to grabbing a winner in the dying stages of the game. First, Amar swung in a good cross for Gerc, who was about to pull the trigger when the alert Madhu took the ball of his toes, before Safi curled a shot from the edge of the box that forced Izwan into a flying save.
With Kelantan winning 3-0 at Felda United, the LIONSXII are now only three points clear of their title rivals and have still played four games more, meaning their place at the top of the table is looking increasingly vulnerable.
LIONSXII: Izwan Mahbud, Madhu Mohana, Baikhakki Khaizan, Sevki Sha'ban, Shaiful Esah, Juma'at Jantan (Yasir Hanapi 37′), Isa Halim, Shahdan Sulaiman, Shahril Ishak (Sufian Anuar 13′), Khairul Amri (Raihan Rahman 54′), Khairul Nizam.
Kedah: Helmi Eliza Elias, Fazliata Taib, Fauzi Nan, Khairul Helmi Johari, V. Thirumurugan, Sabre Mat Abu, Amar Rohidan, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Abdelfatah Safi, Khyril Muhymeen, Vedran Gerc.
Attendance: 7,328
