Terengganu's Tchetche Hermann Brice Kipre leads an African dance after scoring his second goal against Perak. - Photo: M.Azhar Arif / The Star
Terengganu are in the drivers seat to lift the Malaysia Cup.
At half time, the east coast side are leading Perak 2-0 at the Shah Alam Stadium thanks to a brace from their talismanic skipper Kipre Tchetche.
The Ivory Coast hitman pounced on a poor backpass from Mohd Idris Ahmad and easily sidestepped goalkeeper Muhammad Hafizul Hakim Khairul Nizam Jothy to slot in the first goal in the very first minute.
Perak seemed to have equalised in the 30th minute from a corner kick but the goal was ruled out by referee Suresh Jayaraman due to a foul on Terengganu goalkeeper Mohd Suffian Ab Rahman Kungi Raman.
Tchetche then doubled his side's lead thanks to a comical error by Perak custodian Hafizul.
Hafizul had a mis-kick and Tchetche was quick to pounce and slot the ball into the empty net.
As it stands now, Terengganu are on track to win their second ever Malaysia Cup title.
The two sides meet at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight, in what will be their fifth clash of the season.
In previous meetings, Perak and Terengganu notched two wins each in the Super League and Malaysia Cup group stage.
The Malaysia Cup is one of the oldest football tournaments in Asia and was first held nearly 100 years ago, in 1921. It has been won a record 33 times by Selangor.
Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti had said before the match that both teams would tread with caution to avoid mistakes.
“Our win over JDT in the semi-finals was akin to a final and now we’re in another final but we have to forget the previous result.
“In a match like this, the team that makes the most mistakes will be punished.”
Perak coach Mehmet Durakovic will have a chance to hoist the Malaysia Cup for the fifth time but pointed out that Terengganu, who beat defending champions JDT in the semi-finals, were the favourites.
Durakovic won the Malaysia Cup three times as a player with Selangor from 1995-97, before guiding the Klang Valley giants to the title for the first time as a coach in 2015.
It rained cats and dogs six hours before the expected kick-off at 9pm, leaving the Shah Alam Stadium pitch heavy with water and the road to the stadium congested with vehicles.
But the downpour did not dampen the exuberant spirits of both sets of fans, who came with their respective team colours painted on faces and on flags.
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