KUALA LUMPUR: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) battled to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Sri Pahang in the Malaysia Cup final to retain their title at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
The win saw the Southern Tigers complete a historic triple quadruple, having already secured the Super League, FA Cup and Charity Shield this season, in front of nearly 56,000 fans.
It was Sri Pahang who struck first, with T. Saravanan pouncing on a rebound off JDT goalkeeper Syihan Hazmi to fire the Elephants into a surprise lead in the 14th minute.
However, Fandi Ahmad’s side were dealt a major blow just 20 minutes later.
Midfielder Sergio Aguero was sent off after picking up two yellow cards in quick succession — the second for a reckless challenge on JDT’s Heberty Fernandes in the 35th minute — forcing Sri Pahang to play the remainder of the match with 10 men. They clung onto their slender lead at half-time.
JDT coach Hector Bidoglio made a double change after the break, bringing on Romel Morales and Iker Martinez for Natxo Insa and Juan Muniz.
The move shifted the momentum.
In the 54th minute, after a collision between Oscar Arribas and Azrif Nasrulhaq, referee Razlan Joffri Ali awarded a penalty following a lengthy VAR review.
Bergson da Silva calmly slotted home from the spot to level the score, making up for an earlier disallowed goal for offside.
Parity in numbers was restored just three minutes later when JDT’s Park Jun Heong was sent off for a second bookable offence after bringing down Mykola Ahapov.
With both sides down to 10 men, the Southern Tigers pressed relentlessly.
The breakthrough came in the 74th minute when Arif Aiman Hanapi fired home the winner, sealing JDT’s comeback and etching their name once again in Malaysian football history.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
