FA CUP: JDT BLAST MALAYSIA UNIVERSITY 5-0 IN FIRST LEG Q-FINAL

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Defending champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) are only 'one step' away from the semi-finals after beating League A1 team, Malaysian University 5-0, in the first-leg quarter-final of the 2024/2025 FA Cup at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (SSI), Iskandar Puteri, today .

Malaysian University, who hosted and asked to play at JDT's home ground, fell behind as early as the second minute after left defender, La'vere Lawrence Corbin Ong received Muhammad Syahmi Safari's pass to open the score.

Hector Pablo Bidoglio's squad had a chance to double the score in the 38th minute through a free kick but midfielder Safiq Rahim failed to take advantage when his shot hit the post.

The second half saw JDT continued to step up the pressure, adding to the suffering of Mohd Farid Dewan's squad after import player Francisco De Oliveira Geraldes stole the spotlight by scoring two goals in the 48th and 61st minutes respectively.

Defender Shahrul Mohd Saad continued the Southern Tigers’ goal spree when he headed in the fourth goal 10 minutes later, while naturalized striker Romel Morales easily pushed in Corbin Ong's swipe from the left for the fifth goal in the 80th minute.

Malaysian University's dream of at least bringing one goal to the return match also at SSI on July 5 was not achieved after winger Mohd Alief Najmi Mohd Radzi's goal in the 84th minute was disallowed for offside and the position remained until the final whistle.

Meanwhile, in Kuching, five-time FA Cup champions Selangor FC suffered a shocking 1-2 defeat to Kuching City FC in their first-leg FA Cup quarterfinal today.

Selangor’s Chilean import, Ronnie Fernandez gave Selangor a flying start when he took advantage of a chaotic situation in front of the Kuching City goal for the opener in the 31st minute.

Stunned by the goal, Kuching City mounted waves of attacks on the Red Giants' fortress and managed to equalise through Nigerian defender James Okwuosa who pounced on a loose ball when goalkeeper Samuel Somerville lost his grip when trying to save striker Jordan Mintah's header in the sixth minute of injury-time in the first half.

Mintah then emerged as his team's hero when the 28-year-old punished a lapse in concentration by Selangor defender Sharul Nazeem Zulpakar who chested the ball towards his goalkeeper Somerville.

Before the ball could reach Somerville, the Ghanaian striker sneaked in to pounce on the loose ball and slot home the winning goal in the 64th minute to give his side a 2-1 first-leg lead.

The victory by manager Aidil Sharin Sahak's squad will surely be an insurance for the Sarawakian side when Kuching City FC visit the MBPJ Stadium in Petaling Jaya for the second leg of the quarter-finals on July 6.

-- BERNAMA