Khairul Nizam scores ‘best goal’ of career, helps LionsXII stay unbeaten at home
It was a goal worthy of winning any game, although it didn’t turn out to be a winning one.
Nonetheless, Khairul Nizam’s strike for the LionsXII against Selangor FA on Saturday night was a thing of beauty and it did help them salvage a 1-1 draw in the Malaysia Super League tie at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
The striker displayed technique of the highest order, acrobatically meeting Faritz Hameed’s cross with a scissors-kick both explosive and elegant. The ball flashed into the right corner from 12 yards, the goalkeeper diving but never standing a chance.
The result saw the LionsXII preserve their unbeaten home record this season, extending it to 12 games in all competitions. Head coach Fandi Ahmad, himself a scorer of great goals in his heyday, gushed over the 87th-minute equaliser.
“It was a fantastic effort… He did something special for all [of us] and it impressed me, definitely. It’s not easy [to do that], I am happy for him,” said Fandi, adding that it was one of the best goals he had ever seen.
We always had faith in him
He was also delighted that Nizam justified the team’s enduring belief in him. The 24-year-old had not scored in his last 10 matches, but netted just seven minutes after coming on.
“We always had faith in Nizam, he is working very hard in training and he made the difference with his physical presence,” Fandi asserted. “He might not have the best first touch, but he is always there to open up and create problems for defenders.”
The player himself, now on five goals this season, simply described the goal as the best he has ever scored.
“I thought of heading the ball but it was too low for me and I needed to do something about it,” he explained while sporting a huge grin.
“I just waited for the right timing. A lot of times I score these goals in training, but in real games I don’t really score… This is my best goal of my career.”
Stubborn Selangor
The sensational effort was perhaps out of place in the match itself, with Selangor’s soak-and-soak tactics rendering large patches of it a drab affair in front of the 5,814-strong crowd.
The LionsXII huffed and puffed but only Nazrul Nazari troubled goalkeeper Norazlan Razali into a save in the first half.
Khairul Amri worked the Selangor custodian twice more after the break and Safuwan Baharudin headed another decent opening over, before the Red Giants went ahead against the run of play.
Bunyamin Umar’s deep cross from the right was met by Afiq Azmi’s deft header from six yards on the hour mark, leaving Izwan Mahbud flailing at thin air. Perhaps it was fate – the forward’s last goals, a hat-trick, came 12 matches ago in a 4-0 drubbing of the LionsXII back home.
Fandi noted that the Red Giants had come with a mission: “To defend as a team, with 10 players behind the ball. It was very difficult for us.”
His counterpart Mehmet Durakovic admitted it was almost a textbook smash-and-grab victory.
“We played very well and stuck to the game plan,” he said. “I’ve got to say it was a fantastic performance by my players.” That was until Nizam’s intervention. “It was a wonderful, world-class goal and we couldn’t do anything about it,” the former Australian international conceded.
Fandi: We didn’t play well
Fandi saw Nazrul’s dipping strike from range hit the bar a minute before the leveller and Safuwan put a header inches wide in injury time, but regarded it as “a point earned”.
“In the last one or two minutes we could have scored two goals, we thought we could have snatched winner but overall, what a relief [to get a draw]; they were very solid,” he reflected.
“We didn’t play the best [we could], some passes went astray and the midfield wasn’t that dominant.”
He agreed with the suggestion that the lacklustre display could be down to fatigue from their hectic schedule, but hopes they can rally themselves for their second-final league game against Sarawak next.
“We hope that we can regroup on Monday,” he said. “It’s a difficult and dangerous place to play at.”
It sounds like they could do with more moments of magic like the one Nizam conjured.
LionsXII: Izwan Mahbud (C), Faritz Hameed (Gabriel Quak 62’), Madhu Mohana, Shakir Hamzah, Hafiz Sujad, Safuwan Baharudin, Izzdin Shafiq, Nazrul Nazari, Shahdan Sulaiman (Zulfahmi Arifin 62’), Faris Ramli, Khairul Amri (Khairul Nizam 81’).
Selangor: Norazlan Razali, Bunyamin Umar (Azmi Muslim 64’ (S. Veenod 90’+1)), Shahrom Kalam (C), Rizal Fahmi Rozid, Azrif Nazrulhaq, Andik Vermansyah, Leandro dos Santos, Nazmi Faiz, Ahmad Hazwan Bakri, Afiq Azmi (Thamil Arasu 71’), Guilherme de Paula Lucrecio.
