Malaysia Cup: Kl City restrict JDT to slim 2-1 victory in first leg quarterfinal

KUALA Lumpur City FC skipper Brendan Gan denied Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) a chance to take home a comfortable advantage after the restricting the Southern Tigers to record a narrow 2-1 win over Kuala Lumpur City FC (KL City) in the first leg quarter-final of the Malaysia Cup at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium, Cheras, yesterday.

In the action, Hector Pablo Bidoglio’s men started strategically when they tried to score early as soon as the game started but only managed to breach the tight KL City defence in the 33rd minute through Bergson da Silva’s calm finish from Oscar Pasero Arribas’ pass from the left side of the field.

Despite JDT’s dominace there were no additional goals until the end of the first half and though both teams started the second half with a string of attacks, goals only came towards the end of the match.

JDT, the visiting side, did not waste an opportunity that came along their way and it was Heberty Fernandes’ turn to double the score for the Southern Tigers in the 79th minute. But just as JDT came close to going home with a 2-0 advantage, Brendan Gan shattered that hope with a brilliant scissor kick that beat JDT goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi in the final minute of the match (89th minute).

At the Manjung Municipal Council Stadium (MPM), Sri Pahang FC took home a one-goal advantage after recording a narrow 1-0 victory over Perak FC.

The rainy weather throughout the match clearly affected the efforts of Yusri Che Lah’s men when the home team managed to create several chances but failed to take advantage of them but instead the visitors took the lead in the 23rd minute through a goal from imported striker Kpah Sherman.

Towards the end of the match, Sri Pahang goalkeeper Muhammad Zarif Irfan was shown a red card after a Video Assist Referee (VAR) check found that he had elbowed Perak player, Clayton Da Silva.

Meanwhile, JDT will host KL City at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri on Dec 21, while Sri Pahang will take on Perak on Dec 22, at the Temerloh Municipal Council Stadium when all four teams face each other in the second leg of the Malaysia Cup quarterfinals.