Southeast Asia Malaysia

KL City Relinquish Malaysia Cup Title After QF Exit

Kuala Lumpur City FC’s bid to defend their Malaysia Cup title was ended quite emphatically in this year’s quarterfinals, after the City Boys succumbed to a 3-1 defeat away at Terengganu FC on Saturday night. The 4-1 aggregate defeat meant that Kuala Lumpur had an anticlimactic end to a remarkable season like no other, while Terengganu got to continue theirs as this year’s Liga Super Malaysia runners-up made their way into the semifinal.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, the odds were stacked against Kuala Lumpur as they visit Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium.

The City Boys’ chances of retaining their Malaysia Cup crown became even more slimmer after Filipino international Manny Ott opened the scoring for Terengganu in the 22nd minute, before Haqimi Azim gave Kuala Lumpur a glimmer of hope with his equalizer one minute into stoppage time.

Kipre Tchetche killed off any hopes of a Kuala Lumpur comeback, however, with his goal in the 64th minute, before Terengganu’s ticket to the semifinal was confirmed in the 90th minute thanks to a strike from Kpah Sherman.

Defeat meant that Kuala Lumpur ended a remarkable season – that saw them once again finish 6th in the Liga Super and runners-up in the AFC Cup – on an anticlimactic note, while Terengganu’s bid of once again appearing in a domestic cup final this season remain alive.

The Turtles’ opponents in the semifinal will be Selangor FC, with the Red Giants surviving a 2-2 draw away at Negeri Sembilan FC to advance as 4-2 winners on aggregate.

With a healthy 2-0 lead to their name, Selangor visited the Tunku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi with hopes of retaining their advantage, and in the 10th minute of the match Caion effectively sealed Selangor’s spot in the final four with his goal.

However, the Jangs refused to roll over and surrender that easily, with Matheus Alves slotting home a penalty to draw the scoreline level for Negeri Sembilan. Selangor regained the lead in the 45th minute thanks to Jordan international Yazan Al-Arab, however Negeri Sembilan equalized right at the end of the first half after a goal from veteran Zaquan Adha.

No further goals were scored in the second half, which means that Selangor have successfully sealed their spot in the Malaysia Cup final four. Record winners of the competition, the Red Giants will be seeking to drift themselves away from the rest by winning their 34th title.