By Ooi Kin Fai
PETALING JAYA: Premier League side Mifa continued their impressive run in the Malaysia Cup by holding Kedah to a 2-2 draw in Sunday’s Group C match at the MBPJ Stadium.
Kedah were weakened by the absence of Akhyar Rashid, Baddrol Bakhtiar and Rizal Ghazali who all had just returned from the Indonesia Asian Games, and caretaker coach Azzmi Aziz, who recently took over from Nidzam Adzha Yusof, was forced to field inexperienced players.
The cagey affair was finally set alight after 30 minutes when Brazilian Sandro da Silva struck a perfect free kick to put the visitors ahead.
MIFA’s task was made harder after half-time when their striker Kpah Sherman was sent off for a challenge on Kedah’s Liridon Krasniqi.
Yet the reality couldn’t be more different as K. Devan’s side continued to cause Kedah trouble in the second half despite being a man down.
L’Imam Seydi nodded in the equaliser for the home team in the 51st minute, but Kedah provided an immediate response as Silva regained their lead four minutes later.
But Devan’s team would have the last laugh when Barath Kumar rose above the rest to head in the equaliser in the 81st minute to salvage a point from the match.
The draw was enough for Mifa to regain their lead in the group, a point ahead of second-place Johor Darul Ta’zim on six.
Kedah are third on five, followed by Kelantan (four).
Results
Group A: Felcra 1 Terengganu 4, Perak 1 KL 0;
Group B: Police 1 Melaka 6;
Group C: Mifa 2 Kedah 2, JDT 1 Kelantan 0;
