KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 9 — Selangor – the winningest team in Malaysia Cup history – advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament after recording a 2-1 victory over Melaka United at the Hang Jebat Stadium, last night.
The 33-time champions opened the scoring through Nigerian forward Ifedayo Olusegun who lashed in a cross from Wan Zack Haikal Wan Noor in the 22nd minute.
The Red Giants then doubled the lead through Brazilian import Sandro Da Silva in the 52nd minute, but Melaka managed to pull one back through Uche Agba four minutes later.
Selangor made it to the semi-finals of the competition last year, before being eliminated by eventual champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT).
Meanwhile, UiTM FC edged out two-time champions Kelantan in a 3-2 victory at the Manjung Municipal Council Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals for the very first time.
Frank Bernhardt’s squad had taken a comfortable lead in the first half of the match through a header by Muhamad Arif Mohamed Anwar in the 13th minute and Muhamad Rafie Mat Yaacob’s goal two minutes later, thanks to a beautiful cross from Gustavo Almeida Dos Santos.
However, ‘The Red Warriors’ came out blazing in the second half, and equalised through a brace from Muhammad Danial Ashraf Abdullah in the 61st and 63rd minutes.
But just four minutes later, Muhammad Arif’s pinpoint scissor-kick beat Kelantan goalkeeper Nik Akif Shahiran Nik Mat to send UiTM through to the next round.
In the quarterfinals, Selangor will face Kedah who beat Pahang 3-2, while UiTM FC will face Premier League champions Penang who defeated Felda United 3-1.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL) is yet to decide on the fate of the oldest cup competition in Asia this year, after the government announced the implementation of the conditional movement control order (CMCO) in all states in the Peninsula except Pahang, Perlis and Kelantan, from November 9 to December 6.
The MFL initially scheduled the first round to be held from November 6-8, followed by the quarterfinals on November 12-13, the semi-finals on November 17 and the final on November 22.
— Bernama
