Football
Nicolas Anil 7y

Selangor to meet Kedah in second Malaysia Cup final in a row

Selangor and Kedah will meet in the Malaysia Cup final for a second consecutive year after both sides prevailed away from home in the second leg of their semifinals on Saturday night.

Selangor defeated T-Team 3-0 for a 5-2 win on aggregate while Kedah drew 0-0 with PDRM FA for a 2-1 overall victory.

It means the same two sides will return to Shah Alam Stadium to contest the Malaysia Cup final at the end of this month, with Selangor looking to repeat their 2-0 victory over Kedah last December.

In Terengganu, R. Gopinathan and Ugo Ukah scored in the first 15 minutes before Andik Vermanshah grabbed another deep into injury time, as the Red Giants buried T-Team.

Kedah, meanwhile, did everything but score against the Cops at Hang Jebat Stadium in Melaka.

It did not matter, as their 2-1 victory from the first leg on Sept. 30, with goals from Thiago Augusto and Liridon Krasniqi, was enough to carry them through.

Final #TMPialaMalaysia2016 menyaksikan juara bertahan #RedGiants lwn Kedah di Stadium Shah Alam pada 28 atau 30 Oktober. Ulangan final 2015

A photo posted by FA Selangor (@faselangormy) on

Their triumph was witnessed by 15,000 Canaries' fans who made the long journey from the north to see their team cap another wonderful season against the club underdogs.

Spurred by the sizeable support, the first half belonged entirely to the visitors in yellow who should have taken a third minute lead.

Augusto's run searing run in the penalty box ended with him being felled, but referee Nazmi Nasarudin waved away any penalty protest.

The Brazilian liverwire was again in the thick of things shortly after, whipping in a cross that met Shane Smeltz's head, only for the New Zealander to see the ball sail just over the bar.

PDRM were pegged in their own half, and continued to absorb incessant Kedah pressure.

Halim Saari earned the visitors a foul on the edge of the box, and Baddrol Bakthiar low's free kick was palmed away by Hamdan Sairi in the 24th minute.

Seven minutes later, the visitors twice had glorious opportunities to open the scoring. But Augusto's firm header met the upright before Smeltz's follow-up shaved the same woodwork on its way out.

Knowing one goal would tilt the tie back in their favour, PDRM eked out a rare opportunity of their own in the 38th minute. It ended with Christopher Kelly blazing just over the bar as the first half ended goalless.

Tan Cheng Hoe's men started the second half with the same attacking verve, with Liridon Krasniqi pulling the strings to try and unlock the Cops' resilient defence.

But it was their right-back who came closest to breaking the deadlock on the hour mark.

Rizal Ghazali, who made his international debut against Singapore last week, did well to cut in from the wing, but dragged his effort just wide of Hamdan's post.

Baddrol had an even better opportunity 10 minutes later, yet failed to keep his header down after connecting with yet another mercurial Augusto delivery.

The visitors were always going to be suspect at the back as they committed men forward. Andre Francisco almost capitalised, with a low effort just wide of Irwat Akmal's goal.

PDRM came to life in the final minutes in search of the goal that would take them to the final, but Kedah comfortably saw them off to book another date with Selangor in the final.

Kedah: Syawal Nordin, Bang Seung-hwan, Baddrol Bakhtiar (C) (Syazwan Zainon 76'), Liridon Krasniqi, Thiago Augusto, Shane Smeltz (Farhan Roslan 86'), Rizal Ghazali, Amirul Hisyam Awang Kechik, Halim Saari, Azmeer Yusof, Ifwat Akmal (GK)

PDRM FA: Fauzi Majid, Andre Francisco Williams, Hamdan Sairi (GK), Abdul Latiff Suhaimi, Christopher Keli (Afzal Nazri 78'), Amir Saiful Baderli, Souleymane Konate, Safuwan Baharuddin (C), Eskandar Ismail, Guilherme De Paula, Fakhrul Aiman Sidid

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