Goalscoring defender Safuwan Baharudin proved to be the LionsXII's hero once again, as his late header snatched a 1-0 Malaysian Super League (MSL) win over Perak on Tuesday evening.

With the clock running down in Ipoh, the 22-year-old centre-back rose highest to meet Khairul Amri's cross from the left and looped a header over goalkeeper Razi Effendi in the third minute of stoppage time.

It was enough to settle matters on an evening when neither side truly got out of first gear. Up until Safuwan's late winner, the closest either side came to a goal was through set-pieces.

Zulfahmi Arifin's 47th-minute free-kick was met by Safuwan but Razi acrobatically tipped the defender's goal-bound header over.

Opposite number Izwan Mahbud was then called into action in the 69th minute, when he parried to keep Myanmar international Kyaw Zayar Win's dead-ball out.

The LionsXII's next MSL game is against Terengganu's T-Team at Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday.