Johor Darul Ta’zim kicked-off their 2022 Malaysia Cup campaign in style after thrashing their bogey team Petaling Jaya City FC 4-0 at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Wednesday night. The huge win allowed JDT to have a sizeable advantage coming into the second leg of their round of 16 tie on October 31st as the Southern Tigers set their sights on yet another domestic treble.
Having won this season’s Liga Super Malaysia and Malaysia FA Cup, JDT were drawn in an intriguing tie against a Petaling Jaya side who had gave the Southern Tigers some trouble in recent seasons. However, even with danger man Bergson rested, JDT were still no match for the Phoenixes as they were blown away in their own backyard.
Shahrul Saad opened the scoring for JDT in the 5th minute with a powerful header, before Safawi Rasid made it 2-0 in the 39th minute. Substitutes Akhyar Rashid and Fernando Forestieri then joined in the fun late into the second half, with the former making it 3-0 in the 70th minute and the latter completing the rout ten minutes afterwards.
All proceeds from Wednesday’s Petaling Jaya-JDT match were donated to the family of Rajes Perumal, the senior Petaling Jaya defender who was killed in a motorcycle accident a week earlier.
Four other teams also established some foundation for themselves to built upon in October 31st’s second leg matches. Negeri Sembilan FC managed to edge out Kedah Darul Aman 2-1 at the latter’s Darul Aman Stadium, with the result being the Kenari‘s sixth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
Kelantan FC managed to stun Sarawak United 1-0 away at the Sarawak State Stadium in Kuching, while Sabah FC plundered a 2-1 win away at UiTM FC as a Caion brace helped Selangor FC to a 2-0 win over hosts Kelantan United.
Meanwhile at the City Stadium in George Town, Penang FC played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with Kuching City FC, with both sides playing catch-up before settling for a stalemate.
Defending Malaysia Cup champions Kuala Lumpur City FC kick-off their title defense on Thursday, taking on PDRM FC at the KLFA Stadium. The day’s other action also saw Sri Pahang FC welcoming Terengganu FC to the Darul Makmur Stadium.