Terengganu Edge Kl City 2-1 To Keep Final Hopes Alive

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Terengganu FC edged Kuala Lumpur City FC 2-1 in their first leg Malaysia Cup semifinal at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras, here today.

Terengganu FC under Tomislav Steinbruckner were dominant in the first 20 minutes but as the match progressed, both teams were balanced in missing goalscoring chances.

The match looked headed for a scoreless first half but on the stroke of half time and well into injury time, Terengganu import Ivan Mamut broke the deadlock when he finished off a pass from Nurillo Tukhtasinov, beating Kevin Ray Mendoza Hansen in Kuala Lumpur FC’s goal.

The second half was almost a replica of the first half as both teams were guilty of creating goal-worthy chances but missing them.

Though KL City managed to hold their fort well, a lapse in concentration in the 89th minute saw Terengganu double their lead when Nik Muhammad Sharif beat Kevin Ray Mendoza with a curling shot.

KL City however, did not let their guards down but rather fought back gamely and managed to reduce the deficit when their import Tchetche Kipre scored from the spot after Muhammad Syahmi was brought down inside the box by Sean Gan Giannelli at the end of 90 minutes.

The win will certainly give Terengganu the edge as Kuala Lumpur City will travel to Kuala Terengganu to play their second leg semifinal at the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus on Nov 3.

For the records, Terengganu managed to win the Malaysia Cup in 2001 while KL City have won the Malaysia Cup four times with the most recent title being in 2021.

-- BERNAMA