Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur City FC secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Indonesia’s Borneo FC Samarinda in their second Group B match of the 2024/25 ASEAN Club Championship on September 26th.
Brendan Gan scored the decisive goal in the 77th minute at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras within the Kuala Lumpur suburb, marking Miroslav Kuljanac’s side’s second consecutive 1-0 victory in the ACC, having already beaten Kaya FC-Iloilo of the Philippines in their opening match.
The match started cautiously, with Kuala Lumpur City captain Paulo Josue receiving a yellow card for a reckless tackle on Ronaldo Rodrigues in the seventh minute. Shortly after, Borneo centre-back Ronaldo narrowly avoided a red card for stopping Jovan Motika’s goal-scoring chance, as VAR determined the attacker was offside during the play.
Borneo came close to opening the scoring in the 24th minute when captain Stefano Lilipaly’s low shot from inside the box was blocked by Gan. Borneo were forced into an early substitution when Ronaldo exited the match after his clash with Josue.
Both teams entered halftime without a goal, but Borneo almost broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when Leo Gaucho’s close-range attempt from a Lilipaly corner was directed straight at Kuala Lumpur City goalkeeper Azri Ghani, marking their first shot on target.
City Boys’ substitute Sean Giannelli forced Borneo goalkeeper Nadeo Argawinata into a save in the 70th minute with a shot from outside the box that bounced awkwardly in front of the goal.
The breakthrough came in the 77th minute when Zhafri Yahya skillfully dribbled past two Borneo defenders and cut the ball back for Gan, who fired home the winning goal.
Borneo struggled to threaten in the closing stages, with their best chance coming in the 88th minute when Lilipaly’s 35-yard free-kick nearly caught Azri off guard, but the keeper recovered to tip it behind for a corner.
The Pesut Etam‘s defeat extended a long list of Indonesian clubs who have tried and failed to beat Kuala Lumpur City at their KLFA Stadium, a record that started all the way back in 1989. The likes of Pelita Jaya (now Madura United), Gelora Dewata (now Deltras FC), and PSM Makassar have tried and failed to best the City Boys at their own backyard, with PSM’s 0-0 draw with Kuala Lumpur City back in the 2022 AFC Cup group stages remain as being the best result achieved by an Indonesian club in Cheras.