KUCHING: Kuching City FC came from behind to win 2-1 over Perak FC which brings them to fourth position in the Malaysian Super League.
Heavy downpour at the Perak Stadium forced Aidil Sharin’s men to wait an hour for the match, which was originally set to kick off at 8.15 pm, until the downpour finally eased.
When the match began, both sides found it difficult to play in the slippery, muddy and wet pitch.
Nevertheless, it was Perak FC who broke the deadlock, with Harimau Malaya’s Wan Zack Haikal’s shot in the seventh minute giving the host an early lead.
Both sides in the first half played more long balls possibly due to the wet pitch.
Perak FC were the better side, with a free kick in the 31st minute parried away by Kuching’s Shahril Sa’ari.
Perak had another opportunity when Brazilian forward Clayton’s shot grazed past the post, narrowly missing the chance to give his team another lead before half-time.
However, the Cats came back to life in the second half, with Jordan Mintah’s free-kick saved by Perak’s Hamid Mohd Ramadhan.
After trailing for an hour, substitute Petrus Shitembi delivered a well-placed corner kick that found Jordan Mintah, who rose above the defenders to equalise with a powerful header, bringing the score to 1-1.
The Cats pushed ahead with their chances following Tchetche Kipre’s free-kick which went wide.
The 36-year old forward finally had his goal, after a beautiful long ball cross by Daniel Amier found Tchetche who flicked it over Hamid Mohd Ramadhan to give II Gattos the lead.
Aidil Sharin’s men were in their pursuit of a third goal, with Pedro Henrique skilfully twisting and turning to unleash a curling shot aimed at the bottom left corner, only to see it sail wide.
Kuching continued to press on, with Alif Hassan stepping up for a free-kick in stoppage time, but the Perak custodian was equal to the challenge, parrying the effort away for a corner and keeping the score line intact.
The 2-1 win pushes II Gatto up the table to fourth in the league.
Kuching City FC return home to Stadium Negeri and will play Penang on Sunday (Aug 11).
