Malaysia Super League (MSL) leaders Perak FA played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at home to Singapore outfit LionsXII at the Stadium Perak in Ipoh on Saturday night.
The match got off to a blistering start as M. Karathu's men almost broke the deadlock with barely two minutes on the clock when Tuah Iskandar's speculative shot was parried away for a corner kick by Izwan Mahbud.
Two minutes later, the visitors took the lead when a quick break down the left by Khairul Amri saw his pass find Izzdin who combined with the returning Faris Ramli -- the winger missed LionsXII's 2-0 away loss to Kelantan FA due to international commitments -- to lay the ball off for an oncoming Amri to rifle it into the top right corner.
Perak, still high on confidence from their two consecutive league victories, continued to probe the young LionsXII defence with midfielders Fikri Sudin and Nurridzuan Hassan finding joy down the wings only to see the final pass elude them.
The home side were duly rewarded for their efforts in the 27th minute when a free-kick by Nurridzuan was flicked on by South Korean midfielder Woong Namkung to an unmarked Charles Souza Chad who slotted it home at the far post to level the game at one apiece.
Fandi Ahmad's youngsters lost their cool a bit as defenders Hafiz Sujad and Madhu Mohana went into the referee's book in swift succession before half-time.
But, while the LionsXII came out of the break looking positive with a couple of early attempts, it was Perak who took the lead on 48 minutes when Tuah Iskandar's cross found an unmarked Namkung in the box and he placed his header past a hapless Izwan Mahbud who seemed troubled with his shoulder injury.
The visitors reacted by bringing on Firdaus Kasman for Zulfahmi Arifin but it was Gabriel Quak who almost found an instant reply when his 51st minute free-kick was palmed away at full stretch by Zamir.
Singapore's latest strike sensation Sahil Suhaimi was brought on for captain Isa Halim in the 56th minute as coach Fandi opted to bolster his attack in search of the equaliser.
Just when Perak looked to be cruising to victory, Brazilian defender Junio fluffed his clearance in the 68th minute to leave substitute midfielder Firdaus to unleash a volley that sailed past Zamir to stun the partisan crowd into silence.
The high octane football in the opening 45 minutes then seemed to have an impact on both teams as the players looked tired, with neither side seemingly ready to go all out in search of the winner.
LionsXII had one final chance on 88 minutes when Sahil's free-kick was punched out by Zamir only to see Amri's speculative effort cannon off Junio into the grateful arms of the keeper as the home fans heaved a sigh of relief.
The score remained at 2-2 with the referee bringing an end to proceedings to push Perak into second spot in the MSL standings while LionsXII have four points from three games as they continue to build towards a top-three finish.
Perak Starting Line-up: Zamir Selamat, Arif Ismail, Thiago Junio, Syazwan Roslan, Tuah Iskandar Jamaluddin, Idris Ahmad, Nasir Basharuddin (C), Nurridzuan Hassan (Hafiz Ramdan 73'), Fikri Sudin (Ridzuan Azly 70'), Woong Namkung (Haris Safwan Kamal 76'), Charles Souza Chad
LionsXII Starting Line-up: Izwan Mahbud, Madhu Mohana, Afiq Yunos, Hafiz Sujad (Wahyudi Wahid 65'), Nazrul Nazari, Faris Ramli, Isa Halim (C) (Sahil Suhaimi 56'), Zulfahmi Arifin (Firdaus Kasman 50'), Izzdin Shafiq, Gabriel Quak, Khairul Amri