And home ground advantage certainly paid off for the league leaders, who beat Perak 2-1.
But it was not all smooth sailing in the first half.
Firdaus Kasman had a superb shot well saved by Perak goalkeeper Khairul Amri and that was followed by a shocking miss by Safuwan Baharudin.
The lanky defender was inches away from an open goal but somehow managed to guide his header unto the bar when it seemed much easier to score.
Perak too had their chances, which were mainly due to the several careless fouls committed by the Lions in dangerous territory.
Thankfully for the home side, goalkeeper Hyrulnizam was having a superb game, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side in the game.
The breakthrough finally came in the 43rd minute, when Lions striker Khairul Nizam embarked on a powerful run into the penalty are and was unceremoniously brought down by a Perak defender.
Playmaker Shahdan Sulaiman stepped up and made no mistake from the spot to give the LionsXII a 1-0 lead, much to the delight of the fans at the Jalan Besar stadium.
Perak equalised shortly after the break however, after Michel Kubala slotted a rebound off his missed penalty into the back of the net.
The sides then fought tooth and nail to find the winner, and it was the Lions who emerged victorious.
Irwan Shah latched on to a knock down by Safuwan Baharudin and fired a shot past the Perak goalkeeper to seal the win and three very valuable points for the LionsXII.
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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