Solid show: Kuching City’s Ramadhan Saifullah getting past Terengganu’s Miguel Oliveira during the Super League game. — Bernama
PETALING JAYA: A highly controversial refereeing decision stole the spotlight on Saturday night as Kuching City climbed to second place in the Super League with a 1-0 win over Brunei at the State Stadium.
The home fans erupted when winger Ramadhan Saifullah broke the deadlock in the 69th minute to put Kuching City in the lead.
However, the match ended in chaos when a late Brunei equaliser was dramatically ruled out following an extended Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review which drew ire from the visiting team.
Brunei thought they had rescued a point in the 90th minute when Ghanaian midfielder Prosper Boakye bundled the ball home after a goalmouth scramble from a corner kick.
Referee Syed Fazel Shah Syed Anwar Shah initially awarded the goal, but after multiple checks with the VAR, he overturned his own decision, citing a foul on Kuching goalkeeper Haziq Nadzli.
Replay footage, however, appeared to show minimal contact, sparking confusion and frustration among the visitors.
Brunei coach Jamie McAllister did little to hide his disbelief.
“I would love to comment on that, but that would get me into trouble,” he said.
“I’ve been in the game for 30 years – I’ve never seen anything like that. Crazy, but that is football.”
McAllister felt his side had done enough to earn at least a point.
“It was an excellent game. We dealt with the physicality well, won most of our one-v-ones and even had a goal chalked off for a tight offside,” he said.
“In the second half, they had more of the ball, but we were dangerous on the counter. We scored a good goal at the end – you saw what happened.”
Despite the disappointment, he praised his squad’s effort.
“Every player gave everything. The fans enjoyed the game. We deserved the point, at least. We have to take pride in our performance – this is our foundation for the upcoming games.”
The narrow win pushed coach Aidil Sharin’s side to 20 points from nine games, level with Kuala Lumpur but ahead on goal difference.
Brunei remain 11th with five points from nine matches.
A satisfied Aidil said: “They didn’t make it easy for us. My boys worked hard for the goal and kept a clean sheet.”
The win will be a morale booster for the FA Cup semi-final second leg against JDT at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri next Saturday.
With tougher challenges ahead, Aidil said Kuching City must remain defensively solid.
“We’ve made history reaching this stage and we have to be grateful but we will go to Johor to make it tough for them,” he said.
