The 2022 Malaysia Cup quarterfinal first leg matches were played out across the weekend, with this season’s Liga Super Malaysia top three paving their way into the semifinal while defending champions Kuala Lumpur City FC saw their hopes of retaining the trophy faltering after defeat in their first leg match.
The first of Saturday’s quarterfinal matches saw Liga Super bronze medalists Sabah FC making the short trip across Borneo to the state of Sarawak to take on Kuching City FC at the Sarawak State Stadium. Unfancied Kuching – who were founded in 2015 – managed to stood strong against their more illustrious opponents, but in the end a single Baddrol Bakhtiar goal in the 69th minute was enough for Sabah to scrape themselves into victory, and with it, a lead to defend on coming into the second leg.
Saturday’s other quarterfinal match saw Johor Darul Ta’zim traveling to the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium in Kota Bharu to take on Kelantan FC. The Red Warriors, who were promoted to next year’s Liga Super by virtue of league expansion, were no match for the Southern Tigers as goals from Bergson, Syafiq Ahmad, and Leandro Velazquez sent JDT to a commanding 3-0 victory, which practically ensures the treble-chasers’ spot in the semifinals.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Selangor FC welcome Negeri Sembilan FC in one of the quarterfinals’ two all-Liga Super matches. The Red Giants finished eleven points below the Jangs in the Liga Super table, however that was thrown out of the window as Selangor managed to beat Negeri Sembilan convincingly 2-0 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium. Caion opened the scoring in the 55th minute with a penalty following a red card for Negeri Sembilan’s Herold Goulon before Aliff Haiqal sealed the win for the Red Giants in the dying minutes of the match.
Also on Sunday, defending Malaysia Cup champions Kuala Lumpur City FC host Liga Super silver-medalists Terengganu FC at the KLFA Stadium. The hosts, suffering from fatigue following their exploits in four competitions that included their run to the 2022 AFC Cup final, were powerless to stop the Turtles as Kpah Sherman scored Terengganu’s winner in the 15th minute.
The second leg of the quarterfinals will be played across November 11th and 12th.