Aiman Nazirmuddin
Football Tribe Malaysia
Kedah fulfilled their predictions when they beat PKNP FC 4-1 in the second leg of the Malaysia Cup at the Darul Aman Stadium just ahead of the semi-finals with a 6-2 aggregate.
Kedah should cheer on Darul Aman Stadium when they opened the scoring in the 23rd minute through a powerful shot by winger Farhan Roslan, who beat PKNP goalkeeper Shafiq Afifi. Two minutes later, Kedah added a second goal through Argentina-born import Jonatan Bauman after receiving a beautiful pass from Farhan from the right side of the PKNP goal. Malaysia-Australian midfielder David Rowley added another goal to The Eagle with a header in the 71st minute from the corner.
PKNP got their first goal in the 80th minute from Mukhairi Ajmal after making a quick run to the right of Kedah. Towards the end of the game, Kedah’s young player Fayadh Zulkifli completed the winning night with a fourth goal.
The Pahang squad had no problem heading into the semi-finals of the Malaysia Cup after defeating Malacca United 3-1 in the second leg at Darul Makmur Stadium. The success saw Dollah Salleh’s side take on a 6-1 aggregate victory.
However, the first half of the match was not to be expected as both teams failed to come up with a fast and energetic game. The best chance of the hosts came only through the touch of Lazarus Kaimbi but the Namibian import striker failed to take a chance.
However, Kaimbi did not disappoint Tok Gajah’s supporters when he scored opening goal four minutes before the end of the first half.
After the second half, Zainal Abidin Hassan’s side trailed by equalizer Nazrin Nawi in the 54th minute. In the 64th minute, home import striker Dickson Nwakaeme put the squad back in front after defeating goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat. Nwakaeme scored another brilliant goal to put Pahang in a winning side.
The victory saw Pahang face Kedah in the semi-finals of the prestigious trophy.