Daily Express
Kota Kinabalu: Ten men Sabah escaped with a point after snatching a 2-2 draw with Kedah in their Super League encounter at the Darulaman Stadium on Saturday night.
Shahruddin was the saviour as he scored two goals to win a point for Sabah.
The State team played the last 18 minutes with a man short after Australian import Brandan Gan received his marching orders with his second yellow card for kicking Kedah captain Baddrol Bakhtiar in front of the referee.
Sabah broke the deadlock in the 22nd minute with a flick goal by Shahrudin Yaakub which saw his inswinger corner kick going in with the help of a Kedah player's head.
Their joy was short lived however, as seven minutes later, Kedah drew level with a corner kick by captain Baddrol which Syed Adney Syd Hussin failed to deal with allowing Khyril Muhymeen Zambri to head home.
Kedah extended their lead less than 10 minutes later and Baddrol again was the creator as his short pass allowed Faizal Abu Baker to place his shot into the net.
Sabah started the second half with Leopold Alphonso coming in for Alton Linus.
The youngster's presence was immediate as his lob beat the keeper but hit the crossbar within two minutes after the restart.
In the 57th minute, Leopold received a pass from Shahruddin and he delivered a cross into the penalty area that deflected onto Shahruddin's path by Bobby Gonzales and the new signing this season made no mistake to drive home his second goal on the night.
The draw was the fourth for Sabah since the start of the season and they dropped a place to 11th in the league table with six points in six matches.
Their next match is against bottom of the table Kuala Lumpur at the Likas Stadium next Tuesday on Feb 14.
