KL City FC recorded a 3-0 aggregate victory over Selangor FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras November 18, 2021. — Picture via Facebook
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — Kuala Lumpur City FC have advanced to the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup for the first time since 1992 after beating Selangor FC 1-0 in the second quarter-final leg at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras, last night.
The result saw The City Boys record a 3-0 aggregate victory after also dominating the Klang Valley ‘derby’ in the first leg at the Petaling Jaya City Council Stadium (MBPJ) on Sunday with a 2-0 victory.
Colombian import player Romel Morales scored the only goal of the match — which was also his 10th goal in the Malaysia Cup campaign — in the 51st minute, after he was left unmarked in the Selangor penalty box area.
Awaiting KL City FC in the semi-final is Melaka United FC, who confirmed their spot with a 3-1 aggregate win over Sabah FC after securing a 2-1 victory at the Hang Jebat Stadium.
The team coached by Zainal Abidin Hassan also made history as they advanced to the final four of the oldest football tournament in Southeast Asia for the first time.
The hosts opened the scoring in the third minute through a long-range shot from Brazilian import Adriano Narcizo, but had to wait until the second half to take a comfortable 2-0 lead through Sony Norde’s goal in the 78th minute.
Sabah FC got a consolation goal in injury time of the second half through a penalty kick taken by team captain Riso Mitrevski, after Che Rashid Che Halim fouled Jenius Karib in a dangerous area.
Melaka United FC’s previous best in the Malaysia Cup has been reaching the quarterfinals, namely in 2017 and 2019.
Meanwhile, a goal in the 40th minute by young Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) star Arif Aiman Mohd Hanapi took the Southern Tigers squad to the semi-final stage with an aggregate result of 1-0 over Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC.
The victory at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri has allowed JDT to continue its mission of defending the championship crown won in 2019, while having a shot at adding more silverware to its cabinet this season, after winning the Sumbangsih Cup and topping the Super League competition.
JDT will play against the finalists of the 2018 edition Terengganu FC (TFC), who recorded a 4-2 victory over 2021 Premier League runners-up Sarawak United, to advance with an aggregate result of 6-3.
In the action at the UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam, TFC went up 3-0 in the first half through goals from Jordan Mintah (2nd minute), Muhammad Faisal Abdul Halim (12th minute) and Muhammad Faiz Mohd Nasir just before the break.
Mintah scored his second goal of the night in the 64th minute, but TFC’s goal of securing a clean sheet went begging as Sarawak United managed to reduce the deficit through goals from Sandro da Silva in the 70th minute and Uche Agba (89th minute).
The first and second legs of the semi-finals will take place on Nov 22 and 26, respectively.
In the first leg action, KL City FC will host Melaka United FC at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras while JDT will travel to Terengganu to face TFC. — Bernama