PETALING JAYA: Kelantan made home advantage count in emphatic fashion, brushing aside Kuala Lumpur 3-1 in the FA Cup round-of-16 first leg at the Sultan Mohd IV Stadium in Kota Baru on Monday (Aug 18).
The Red Warriors struck early through their captain Ifedayo Olusegun, who punished a poor backpass from KL’s Ukrainian defender Dimitro Lytyn with a calm finish past goalkeeper Quincy Kammeraad in just the fourth minute.
Olusegun doubled his tally 10 minutes later, reacting quickest to a fumble from Kammeraad after T. Saravanan’s volley, before Sean Selvaraj extended the lead in the 61st minute by turning in Nor Azam Azih’s corner.
Kuala Lumpur managed to salvage some hope late on when substitute Syamer Kutty Abba volleyed home a Safawi Rasid corner in the 86th minute, giving them something to fight for in the return leg.
The away side should have added a second in the dying stages of the game but Safawi slipped and blazed his penalty over the bar.
Meanwhile in Paroi, Negri Sembilan delivered a dominant 5-0 win over Police at the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium. Bosnian winger Jovan Motika opened the floodgates with a stunning 25-metre freekick inside the first minute, and Police’s night worsened when Ivorian defender Noel Agbre was sent off in the 11th minute for a last-man foul.
Motika netted again in the 40th minute, finishing off a pass from Japanese playmaker Takumi Sasaki, before Joseph Esso pounced on a rebound three minutes later for the Deer’s third.
The Ghanaian striker added another in the 83rd minute, while substitute Mio Tsuneyasu got on the scoresheet in the 77th to cap a commanding performance.
