PETALING JAYA: A centreback usually wins or saves games with last-ditch tackles, clearances and goal-line blocks.
Kuching City’s Gabriel Peres however did it by scoring goals.
The towering Brazilian struck twice in the closing stages, in the 86th minute and again in stoppage time, to earn the Cats a dramatic 2-2 draw with Singapore’s Tampines Rovers in their Asean Club Championships Shopee Cup Group A tie at the Taha Ariffin Stadium (previously known as State Stadium) in Kuching on Wednesday.
It was a memorable debut in the tournament for the Malaysia Super League side.
Tampines took the lead through Nabel Yoshitaka Furusawa in the 13th minute.
Peres cancelled that out with his first goal in the 86th, but Kohya Kazama appeared to have won it for the visitors two minutes later.
Peres had the final word with a stoppage-time header, sparing the hosts defeat and securing a share of the points.
The 29-year-old, who joined Kuching from Sabah in July, was named man of the match and was quick to credit his teammates and coach Aidil Sharin.
“It feels good to score the goal and also get the man of the match award because I worked hard.
“But this award is not just for me, but for my group.
“This is for my coach (Aidil Sharin),” said Peres, who stands 1.97m tall.
They are hoping the good showing will put them in good stead ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final second leg against Kelantan City tomorrow. They drew 0-0 against them in the first leg.
“Right now, we have to focus on recovery against Kelantan,” he said.
“It is an important game because a win would see us in the semis, so I would love to see a full-house stadium. We need that energy as well.”
Meanwhile, Aidil felt his side deserved all three points, having dominated with 66 per cent possession and 22 chances to Tampines’ seven.
“Overall, looking at this match, we controlled the game well. I feel we did not deserve to lose this match,” said Aidil, who hails from Singapore.
“We had several chances, and we must also give credit to the Tampines goalkeeper (Zharfan Rohaizad) and defensive line, who performed well to keep us at bay.
“I have to praise the Kuching players, who refused to give up and kept applying pressure until they managed to score two goals to change the match’s outcome.
“The reaction was crucial in demonstrating the team’s ability to keep fighting despite facing difficult situations during the match.
“We cannot stop here. We will make the necessary improvements for the next game,” he said.
