KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 15 — Beautiful goals in the first and second half saw Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC record a stylish 2-0 victory over Selangor FC in the first leg of the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ) last night.
The City Boys’ victory in the Klang Valley derby was their first against Selangor FC in any competition in over two decades.
Romel Morales caught Selangor FC off-guard with a solid header in the 14th minute, a sort of consolation for him as his goal in the 10th minute was disallowed by referee Mohd Nafeez Abd Wahab due to rough play in the opponent’s penalty box.
KL City FC retained the 1-0 lead through most of the game, but Muhammad Hadin Azman doubled it in the 82nd minute to provide some cushion to the away team ahead of the second quarter-final clash at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras, on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Terengganu FC (TFC) defeated Sarawak United FC 2-1 at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus, taking them one step closer to the semi-finals.
TFC opened the scoring in the 16th minute through national player Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim who sprinted down the field before lashing the shot from long range to beat goalkeeper Mohd Sharbinee Allawee Ramli.
However, TFC defender Muhamad Shahrul Nizam Ros Hasni headed the ball into his own net in the 21st minute to gift an equaliser to the away team, much to the horror of the 8,700 fans who were present.
The Turtles came out in the second half with the mission of taking a lead into the second leg of the quarter-final match-up, and Mohd Faiz Nasir delivered with a powerful shot from inside the penalty box in the 51st minute.
At the Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Melaka United FC’s star import player Sony Norde kept the ‘Sang Kancil’ squad’s excellent run in the Malaysia Cup campaign alive as he scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory over Sabah FC.
After a goalless first 45 minutes, a counter-attack early in the second half was cleverly completed by Norde in the 52nd minute as his powerful shot went past goalkeeper Rozaimie Rohim.
The victory saw Melaka United FC led by Head Coach Zainal Abidin Hassan maintain their unbeaten record in the competition so far this season.
Meanwhile, the action between the 2016 champions Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC and the reigning champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) who are also the Super League champions this season, ended in a 0-0 draw at the Darul Aman Stadium in Alor Setar.
The second-leg of all the quarterfinal matches will take place on Thursday.
— Bernama
