LIONSXII bounce back with Terengganu win

It looked set to be another tough night for V. Sundramoorthy's men when Jean Emmanuel Effa gave Terengganu the just after the half-hour mark.

However, two goals within ten minutes from Safuwan Baharudin (65') and Syafiq Zainal (74') ensured all three points for the home side. 

Both teams started brightly, with Jean Emmanuel Effa's header off a fourth minute Ismail Faruqi corner going just over. 

Shahfiq Ghani responded for the home side less than a minute later - doing superbly to collect a long ball from Shakir Hamzah on the left but his cross flashed across the face of goal with Shahril Ishak just unable to reach it in time.

After that though, the match descended into a turgid battle for midfield supremacy and it wasn't until the 20th minute that the next opportunity beckoned for the LIONSXII. 

Faritz Hameed stormed down the right before squaring for Shahril who teed up Shahfiq right at the edge of the area. The forward's goal-bound strike was deflected for a corner, signalling a ten-minute period of domination of V. Sundramoorthy's men during which they won a slew of corners and free-kicks without taking advantage of any of them.

Both Shahril and Shahfiq were guilty of poor deliveries and when the latter did manage to conjure up a quality free-kick in the 29th minute, Terengganu custodian Wan Muhd Azraie was solidly behind it. 

Having punished so many teams from set-pieces in the past year, LIONSXII found the boot on the other foot just after the half-hour mark. 

The Turtles had survived a barrage and now immediately made their chance count. A free-kick from just inside the home side's half was floated in gently by Vincent Bikana right into the heart of the area and Effa rose above Baihakki Khaizan to glance a header right into Izwam's bottom-left corner.

The goal seemed to infuse the visitors with confidence. First, Furqi tried an audacious chip from the half-line later before Ashari Shamsudin's scything run through the heart of the defence finished with a shot that blazed just over five minutes from the break. LIONSXII had barely recovered from that close call when Terengganu went even closer three minutes later.

Watch: Highlights: LIONS XII 2-1 Terengganu... More Videos

Effa once again won his aerial battle with Baihakki off a free-kick and his header found the lively G Puaneswaran whose first time shot from 20 yards out thundered off the right post with Izwan well beaten. 

The Terengganu striker then a great chance to test Izwan himself off in the 44th minute but his free-kick from the edge of the area failed to clear the wall. 

The home side emerged from the tunnel keen to re-establish their dominance from the early stages of the first half. Having done so with yet another flurry of corners and free-kicks right after the restart that stretched the Turtles defence - this time they refused to let go. 

Substiute Syafiq Zainal had Wan scrambling with a decent shot from distance just before the hour mark before Shahfiq disappointed yet again from a corner after having done well to win it in the first place in the 60th minute.

The striker would make amends shortly though. The LIONSXII won a free-kick after Irwan Shah had been fouled on the right and this time Shahfiq's delivery found Safuwan Baharudin. 

The defender mistimed his header horribly but fortunately for him the ball landed right at his feet in the crowded area after a couple of lucky ricochets. He made no mistake in slotting it in from three yards out. 

Safuwan could have made it two less than 90 seconds when he arrived at the far post to meet Shahfiq's corner but this time Wan made himself big to block the header.

The stadium was absolutely rocking as the home side piled on the pressure and Baihakki should have given them the lead in the 71st minute when yet another Shahfiq corner found him completely unmarked six yards out. His header though came back off the crossbar. 

One could sense the goal coming though, and it duly arrived via another set-piece two minutes later after Gabriel Quak did brilliantly on the flank to win a corner. Terengganu failed to clear their lines properly and at the third time of asking Shahfiq's cross found Syafiq whose header found the back of the net to complete the turnaround.

To their credit, the visitors refused to be deflated, with Effa in particular, continuing to cause problems. His knockdown right on the stroke of injury time played in Ashari on the right but the midfielders shot skipped just wide of Izwan's far post. 

As Marzuki Sulong's men poured forward, LIONSXII had chances to put more sheen on the scoreline but failed to keep their heads in the final third.

Starting XIs

LIONSXII: Izwan Mahbud, Fartiz Hameed, Baihakki Khaizan, Safuwan Baharudin, Shakir Hamzah, Isa Halim, Hafiz Sujad, Safirul Sulaiman, Shahril Ishak, Shahfiq Ghani, Irwan Shah

Subs: Syafiq Zainal for Hafiz Sujad (46'), Gabriel Quak for Faritz Hameed (46'), Izzdin Shafiq for Shahfiq Ghani (78')

Goals: Safuwan Baharudin (65'), Syafiq Zainal (74')

Yellow Cards: Faritz Hameed (33'), Baihakki Khaizan (40')

Terengganu: Wan Muhd Anzraie , Muhaimin Omar, Vincent Bikana , Ismail Faruqi, G Puaneswaran, Zubir Azmi, Khairul Ramadhan, Ahmad Nordin, Ashari Shasudin, Faizal Muhammad, Jean Emmanuel Effa

Subs: Amirul Syahmi for Abdul Manaf (69'), Amirul Syahmi for Zubir Azmi (80')

Goals: Jean Emmanuel Effa (33')

Yellow Cards: Jean Emmanuel Effa (38')