KUCHING: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) edged Kuching City FC 2-1 in a thrilling first-leg encounter of the FA Cup semi-finals at the Sarawak State Stadium in Petra Jaya on Sunday night.
Hosts Kuching City made the Southern Tigers work hard for every inch of their victory.
Two classy finishes from star striker, Bergson Da Silva, secured the win for the Super League leaders, though it was far from smooth sailing against a spirited Kuching City side led by Aidil Sharin Sahak, who fed off the energy of a packed home crowd.
The homesters almost stunned the visitors early on when Danial Asri unleashed a powerful effort that narrowly sailed over the bar.
Both teams traded attacking blows in an evenly balanced first half, with JDT winger, Arif Aiman, rattling the post in the 20th minute, while Kuching City continued to press high and threaten on the break.
Danial Asri again came close to breaking the deadlock in the 31st minute, racing clear of the JDT defence, only to be denied by the quick reflexes of national goalkeeper, Syihan Hazmi.
The deadlock was finally broken in the 35th minute when Arif Aiman weaved his magic down the left flank before teeing up Bergson, who curled a superb strike into the top corner to silence the home crowd.
Kuching City made two changes after the break, introducing Joao Pedro and Diego Baggio in search of more attacking rhythm – but JDT struck again just four minutes later.
The ever-dangerous Bergson made no mistake from close range in the 49th minute, once again assisted by the brilliant Arif Aiman.
The Cats refused to roll over, however.
Their persistence paid off in the 69th minute when a counterattack ended with Petrus Shitembi slotting home a rebound after Ramadhan Saifullah’s stinging drive was parried by the goalkeeper, reigniting the crowd’s belief.
Despite a late surge from the hosts, JDT held firm to take a slender 2-1 advantage back to Johor.
The second leg will be at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium on November 29, where Kuching City will aim to defy the odds and continue their fairytale run in this year’s FA Cup campaign.
