PETALING JAYA: Kuching City marched into the Malaysia Cup semi-finals in style after defeating Brunei 3-1 in the quarter-final second leg on Saturday (Feb 14).
The Borneo side had already taken control of the tie with a 3-1 win in the first leg in Bandar Seri Begawan on Feb 7, and they carried that momentum into the return match at the State Stadium in Kuching to complete a 6-2 aggregate victory.
Roared on by a packed home crowd, Aidil Sharin’s men delivered a confident and disciplined performance to put the result beyond doubt.
Kuching opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Cameroonian striker Ronald Ngah finished off a well-worked move, converting a cross from Namibian midfielder Petrus Shitembi.
The second came in the 42nd, with Shitembi proving to be a catalyst again, this time crossing for Nigerian centreback James Okwuosa, who obliged with a towering header.
In the second half, Brunei reduced the deficit through their young sensation Hakeme Yazid Said in the 54th minute.
New signing Gabriel Palmero came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute replacing winger Ahmad Danial Asri and he only needed five minutes to score on his debut, when he capitalised on a loose save from Haimie Nyaring in the 68th minute.
Kuching will face either Selangor or Negri Sembilan in the semis in April.
