KUALA LUMPUR: Negri Sembilan coach Nidzam Jamil praised his players' fighting spirit as they held Kuching City to a 2-2 draw at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium on Friday (Aug 29).
Luis Enrique Nsue struck a stoppage-time equaliser to salvage a point for the home side which struggled to keep Kuching at bay early on.
"What pleased me most was the commitment of the players. You can't rely on magic every week, but tonight (yesterday) the attitude was right," said Nidzam.
"Against a side like Kuching, you can't afford lapses, but the boys responded well."
The dramatic finish, witnessed by a packed stadium in Paroi, capped a contest where Negeri twice trailed following goals from Danial Asri (7th minute) and Ronald Ngah (48th).
Joseph Esso pulled one back in the 79th, before Nsue sparked wild celebrations with his last-gasp strike.Kuching coach Aidil Sharin Sahak, in contrast, felt his team had done enough to win.
"Before the match, nobody expected us to get anything here because Negeri were in good form, But if you look at the first half, we had good chances and we were the better team overall," he said.
"For the first goal, we gave too much space. The second was a great set-piece and header — credit to Negeri. These are small details we must improve on."
The result leaves both sides with four points, with Kuching fifth and Negeri sixth in the Super League standings.
In Kota Kinabalu, Sabah wasted the chance to register their first win of the season after being held 1-1 by Melaka FC at Likas Stadium.
Bosnian striker Ajdin Mujagic put Sabah in front on 61 minutes and the hosts thought they had doubled their lead minutes later when Gabriel Peres's effort appeared to cross the line. It was, however, disallowed.
The miss proved costly as Irfan Zakaria struck in the 85th to earn Melaka a point.
A dejected Jean-Paul de Marigny was left to rue the missed opportunity.
"We can't be satisfied with a point. We controlled large parts of the game but didn't take our chances. Goals change games," said the Sabah coach.
Melaka boss K. Devan was instead full of praise for his side.
"To equalise at the end shows character. The players were disciplined and never gave up," said Devan.
Sabah now sit seventh with three points, just ahead of Melaka in eighth. Both clubs are still in search of their first league win.
The Super League will take a break during the international window (Sept 1-9).
Action will resume on Sept 19 with Melaka taking on Terengganu in Gong Badak.
A day after, Negri Sembilan head to Batu Kawan to play Immigration as Kuching City meet Selangor in Sarawak. JDT will take on Sabah at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on Sept 21.
