Sundram defends Baihakki after sending off

By FOX Sports staff

The Singaporean outfit could have gone top of the table at the weekend if they had been able pick up all three points at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, and looked extremely adventurous in the first half despite their recent away problems.

However, they were dealt a blow shortly after the hour mark when Baihakki controversially received his second yellow for comments he made to the referee, forcing the LIONSXII to abandon all attacking intent and defend for the remainder of the game, which was ultimately enough for them to earn a point.

Speaking after the game, Sundramoorthy refused to blame his experienced defender for his dismissal.

"The player getting sent off is part and parcel of the game and part of football," he said.

"[FELDA striker Mohammed] Ghaddar also got sent off in their last game and was suspended for this game so, basically, it happens.

"Baihakki has done his part for the team over the course of the season so far. This is just a one-off game and he will have to get over it."

The Singapore international will now miss Saturday's visit of defending champions, along with utility Hafiz Abu Sujad, who picked up his fourth booking of the campaign in the same game.

Nonetheless, Sundramoorthy is backing his side to cope without the duo, especially given their excellent home record in 2013.

"I will figure out how to handle Kelantan without these two players when we get home," he added. "It's really important that we did not lose [on Saturday] so the players' morale would not be affected.

"As long as we keep our good run at JBS [Jalan Besar Stadium], we will get another chance to top the table in the future.

"We will be ready for Kelantan."

Midfielder Hariss Harun, admitted a draw was ultimately a satisfying result given the way the game had panned out.

"At the start, if the result ended in a draw, it would have been two points dropped," he said. "But taking into consideration that we played the last 30 minutes with ten men, and were under pressure, this is a point gained.

"FELDA looked very motivated to beat us and they were really having a go at us in the last quarter of the game. It is good that we kept our shape after going down to ten men and eventually came away with a point."

Following Saturday's results, LIONSXII are currently third on the table, two points behind leaders Darul Takzim, who went top for the first time this season after a 2-1 win over Negri Sembilan.