FA CUP: JDT AND SABAH SECURE SLIM VICTORIES, ALL TO PLAY FOR IN SECOND LEG

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 (Bernama) -- Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) will carry a slim advantage into the second leg at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium (SSI) after defeating Penang FC 2-1 in the first leg of the FA Cup quarter-finals at the City Stadium, Georgetown, tonight.

Penang, playing as the host, was first shocked by JDT's opening goal as early as the sixth minute, which was struck by winger, Oscar Aribas.

Trailing 0-1, the squad managed by Wan Rohaimi Wan Ismail launched several attacks to breach the JDT defence before successfully levelling the score through Muhammad Adib Ra’op in the 35th minute, beating goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Azmi Mohamed.

The Black Panthers squad was tested in the final minutes of the first half when they lost a player after Ahmad Irfan Mohd Noor was sent off following a foul on Romel Morales.

Resuming the second half, the absence of Ahmad Irfan somewhat affected Penang's game, and they were finally punished by JDT with a second goal from Ager Aketxe Barrutia in the 55th minute, despite the ball being deflected by Mohd Khairulazhan Mohd Khalid.

Penang attempted a comeback but failed to find the equalising goal, thus JDT's 2-1 lead remained intact until the final whistle, with the return leg scheduled for Oct 28.

In KOTA BHARU, Kelantan 'The Real Warriors' (TRW) failed to capitalise on their home advantage when they lost 1-2 to Sabah FC at the Sultan Muhammad IV Stadium.

Sabah opened the scoring through striker Muhammad Jafri Muhammad Firdaus Chew in the 12th minute when he cleverly connected with a teammate's cross inside the Kelantan penalty box.

Four minutes later, the host scored the equalising goal through import player Abdul Sesay, who easily tapped in a cross inside the penalty box, beating Sabah goalkeeper, Damien Lim.

Sabah then got their second goal through import player Ajdin Mujagic in the 43rd minute, just before both teams were due to head to the dressinmg room for the half time break.

In the second half, Kelantan doubled their attacks in search of the equalising goal but Sabah managed to hold on until the final whistle.

-- BERNAMA