KUALA LUMPUR: Ten-man KL City managed to hold Kuching City to a 1-1 draw in their Super League opener at the KLFA Stadium on Saturday.
The incident-packed match saw the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) play a major role with Kuching having a goal cancelled and KL City getting their player sent off.
The City Boys got a perfect start through Paulo Josue's goal in the 12th minute.
Two minutes later Yuki Tanigawa seemed to have equalised for Kuching but the goal was cancelled after a VAR check found he had fouled KL goalkeeper Azri Ghani.
However, the visitors didn't let the disappointment affect them as Pedro Henrique drew level in the 19th, thanks to Tchetche Kipre's assist.
The hosts suffered a setback after Adrijan Rudovic was sent off for a high challenge on Jordan Mintah in the 34th. The Montenegrin was initially shown a yellow card by referee S. Logeswaran but after checking with VAR, the defender was red carded.
Kuching City however failed to use their numerical advantage and had to settle for a draw.
In an earlier match, Sabah were held to a goalless draw by Penang at the Likas Stadium. VAR was unavailable for the match due to a technical problem.