PETALING JAYA: Selangor fans left for home with smiles wide on their faces after their beloved side produced one of their best performances of the season by thrashing Negri Sembilan 5-1 in the Malaysia Cup quarter-final second leg at the Petaling Jaya Stadium on Saturday (Feb 14).
The Klang Valley-based club entered the game with a 1-0 lead from the first-leg and qualified for the semi-final with a 6-1 aggregate.
The Red Giants did not hold back from the start and scored the first goal as early as the first minute when captain and winger Faisal Halim finished off a brilliant passing movement between Cape Verdean winger Alvin Fortes, wingback Quentin Cheng and French midfielder Hugo Boumous.
Fortes then got the second in the 23rd minute when he finished off a low-drilled cross from Brazilian striker Chrigor Moraes.
Midfielder Nooa Laine tripled their lead with a beauty when he received a pass from Faisal and rifled a shot from outside the box to beat a sprawling Negri goalkeeper Aqil Abdul Razak, who was playing after first-choice goalkeeper Azri Ghani was suspended for the game.
In the dying stages of the first-half, Quentin scored the fourth after heading a cross from Fortes.
After the second-half, both sides exchanged attacks with Aqil called in several times to make some top saves but was beaten for the fifth time in the 65th minute.
Moraes got his 30th goal of the season in all competitions and it was a cool finish when he chested the ball into the net after receiving a top freekick from Boumous in the 65th minute.
Negri got their consolation in the 72nd minute when Bosnian winger Jovan Motika scored a penalty, which was awarded after fellow winger A. Selvan was fouled by Selangor fullback Ahmad Zikri Khalili.
Selangor will face Kuching City in the two-legged semi-final, which will be in April.
