Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Kota Bharu: Goalkeeper Imran Mohamed made a number of excellent saves as Maldives FA Cup holders Maziya kicked-off their maiden AFC Cup campaign with a 1-1 away draw against Malaysian treble winners Kelantan at the Sultan Mohammad IV Stadium on Wednesday.
The Maldivian side absorbed a great deal of pressure before Hassan Adhuham gave them a surprise lead in the 62nd minute.
Substitute Badhri Radzi levelled for the home team with 13 minutes left but poor finishing and the brilliance of Mohamed ensured that honours were shared in the Group G encounter.
With both sides taking a single point from the match, Vietnamese champions SHB Da Nang remained on top of the group with three points following their 2-1 victory over Myanmar’s Ayeyawady United in their opening game last week.
Kelantan dominated the first half and they could have taken an early lead when Dimitrios Petratos found space on the right of the Maziya box and rifled in a powerful volley that forced a sharp save out of Mohamed.
Petratos was a lively figure up front for the hosts and the Australian was within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute when he was sent clear on the left and launched a rising shot that flew past Mohamed but came back off the underside of the crossbar.
Just before half-time, Petratos saw another effort blocked by the Maziya defence with the loose ball falling to Zairo Anuar Zalani who had the goal at his mercy but blasted his effort wastefully high.
Having been pegged in their own half for much of the opening period, Maziya asserted themselves more strongly after the break and caused the Kelantan defence a few scares before they took the lead just after the hour.
Maziya captain Ahmed Rashee pounced on some lax defending to grab possession in the opposition half and he laid off the ball to Ismail Easa who chipped the ball over the Kelantan defence. Adhuham alertly sprinted into the box and got to the ball just before goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi and stabbed it into the net.
Kelantan were stung into action and they nearly grabbed a quick equaliser when Faiz Subri’s effort forced Mohamed into another fine save.
The home side began to look increasingly desperate in attack but they finally got the ball into the net in the 77th minute when Petratos slipped a pass through to Badhri Radzi, whose shot from a narrow angle on the right took a wicked deflection off a defender and looped over the head of Mohamed into the far corner of the Maziya net.
The Maziya goalkeeper could do little about the goal but he ensured that the scores remained level when he made a brilliant save three minutes later, twisting in mid-air to tip Dickson Nwakaeme’s backward header onto the crossbar.
With time running out, Petratos broke clear of the Maziya defence with only Mohamed to beat but he dragged his low shot wide of the post.
Kelantan coach Bojan Hodak was left to lament his team’s poor finishing as the 2012 quarter-finalists failed to pick up maximum points from their home opener.
“We created many chances tonight but we just couldn’t score,” said the Croat.
“We were a bit unlucky because we hit the crossbar twice in the game but our finishing was not good. However, Maziya played well defensively and they also made it hard for us to score.
“It was a disappointing result but I am pleased that our two new foreign players – Dimitrios Petratos and Dickson Nwakaeme – both played well in their first game for the club.”
Despite seeing his side fail to hold on for the win, Maziya coach Ismail Mahfooz was more than satisfied with the draw.
“I feel that we were lucky because we did not expect much from this game so one point is good for us especially from an away match,” he said.
“Kelantan are a good team and they played better than us tonight so we had to play a counter-attacking game but we managed to get something from the match at the end.”
Photo: WSG