PETALING JAYA: Spurred on by their home crowd, Kuching City conquered both the elements and Penang to book their place in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 aggregate win in the round of 16.
In a rain-soaked second leg at the State Stadium in Kuching, the Cats roared back with a 2-0 victory over the Panthers after losing the first leg 0-1 in Georgetown on Jan 18.
Striker Gabriel Nistelrooy thought he had scored the first goal when he headed a freekick from Namibian midfielder Petrus Shitembi, which looped over Penang goalkeeper Ramadhan Abd Hamid in the 32nd minute but it was offside.
But 13 minutes later, the 25-year-old Nistelrooy got it right when the player on-loan from Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) capitalised on a mistake made by Ramadhan to deliver the first goal.
A minute later in injury time, Cameroonian striker Ronald Ngah got the second when he made good of an error made by Penang Kamil Akmal Rokisham to seal the team's passage to last eight.
Meanwhile, Brunei were held 1-1 by Kelantan the Red Warriors in the second leg, but they qualified for the quarter-finals, thanks to a 3-1 aggregate win.
Kelantan got the first goal through their centreback Abdul Latiff Suhaimi, who headed a corner in the eighth minute, while Brunei’s emerging star Hakeme Yazid Said equalised in the 11th minute.
Brunei will face Kuching City in the two legged quarter-finals - at the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium on Feb 8 and the State Stadium on Feb 15.
