Pahang and Melaka take up the last 2 spots in M'sia Cup quarters

Pahang and Melaka United became the final two teams to qualify to the knockout stage of the 2017 Malaysia Cup as the group stage came to a close on Saturday night. They join PKNP FC, Perak, Felda United, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT), Selangor and Kedah who have all confirmed their quarter final ticket before the last round of matches.

The quarterfinal matches have also been decided with Pahang playing Perak, Felda hosting PKNP, Selangor going up against Kedah and Melaka facing up against JDT. The first leg matches are scheduled to take place over two day, 15 - 16 September.

In Group A, Pahang clinched the second spot in the group after defeating T-Team 3-2 at Darul Makmur Stadium. The Titans gave the Elephants a run for their money, equalising twice in the match through Syed Sobri and Youssouf Maiga after Matheus Alves and Nor Azam Azih had given their team the lead. It was left to Yamil Romero to seal the win with five minutes left to play, a result which was a double blow for T-Team as it knocks them out of the competition. Negeri Sembilan and PKNP played out a goal-less draw in the other match.

Perak TBG
(C) Perak TBG

Over in Group B, with the top two spots already confirmed, it was a battle between Perak and Felda to see who finishes top of the group. Mehmet Durakovic put out a mixture of first teamers and fringe players but was still able to guide Perak to a 2-1 win. Nizad Ayub opened the scoring in the first half but the visitors struck back through Danial Amier. Shahrul Saad emerged as the hero as his late goal proved to be the winner. Guilherme de Paula scored twice for Kuala Lumpur as they beat PKNS FC 2-0 in the group's other match.

Things were a little less straightforward in Group C. Before the start of the day, Melaka needed only a point to confirm their place in the last eight and were given a big scare by UiTM FC. In a ding-dong battle, the plucky UiTM side handed Melaka an embarrassing 5-3 defeat. Akanni Sunday's late penalty conversion ultimately became the deciding factor and killed the last breath of fight in Melaka. 

However, Melaka were able to count their lucky stars as Kedah took the match against Kelantan seriously to triumphed 2-0 at Darul Aman Stadium. Ken Ilso continuing his fine form with another goal to add to an earlier strike from Sandro da Silva as The Red Eagles won the group with consummate ease. 

Johor Southern Tigers
(C) Johor Southern Tigers

Like Group B, Group D was also another battle to determine the winners of the group and it was JDT who was victorious in that battle with a 3-1 win. Mohammed Ghaddar benefited from Gonzalo Cabrera's delivery from the left to open the scoring but Selangor equalised through Rufino Segovia. Gary Steven Robbat capped a rare start with a headed goal before half time to restore JDT's lead and Ghaddar added to Selangor's wounds in the second half, reacting quickest to Natxo Insa's shot that bounced off the post. Terengganu and Sarawak played out a 3-3 draw in the group's remaining match.