PLAYER RATINGS: Kedah vs Felda United

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BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter

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Kedah beat Felda United 1-0 in their first leg FA Cup semi-final match on Saturday, but the man of the match honour goes to a player from the losing side.

KEDAH

Ifwat Akmal - 7/10

The custodian had little to do, exemplified by the fact that he only touched the ball for the first time in the encounter in the 37th minute.

Rizal Ghazali - 6/10

The right back could concentrate more on attacking as the visitors were more intent on defending, but he was unable to provide the attackers with quality deliveries.

Renan Alves - 7/10

The centre back did not have a lot to do defensively, and one of his forays into the opposing penalty box resulted in him being fouled and his team being awarded a penalty that was then converted for the only goal of the match. 

Shakir Hamzah - 7/10

The centre back was rarely challenged by the depleted Felda squad.

Azmeer Yusof - 6/10

The left back could concentrate more on attacking as the visitors were more intent on defending, but he was unable to provide the attackers with quality deliveries.

Baddrol Bakhtiar - 6/10

The midfielder and skipper's exchange of passes with the forwards could not effectively break down the visitors' defences.

Edgar Bernhardt - 7/10

The midfielder had a relatively quiet night due to Felda's defensive tactics, but still allowed the visitors to hit them on the break every once in a while, which could have been worse had the counter-attacking moves been executed with more punch. 

Zaquan Adha  - 6/10

The Malaysia striker missed a number of chances to give the hosts the lead at home, and was taken off late in the second half.

Jonathan Bauman - 6/10

The forward disappointed in the encounter, failing to put away a number of chances he was presented with.

Hidhir Idris - 6/10

The young winger could not play a bigger role in the match and was taken off in the second half for another promising star Fayadh Zulkifli.

Fernando Rodriguez - 7/10

The striker found no goal from open play despite his team dominating proceedings, but did not disappoint when it mattered the most; converting the 67th-minute penalty that allows them to head into the return fixture with a slim lead.

FELDA UNITED

Norazlan Razali - 8/10 (Man of the Match)

Despite conceding a goal from the penalty spot, the experienced goalkeeper was most definitely the standout performer in the match. He made save after save behind a shaky defence to deny the hosts the opening goal for some time, and after finally letting in the aforementioned spotkick, still maintained his nerves to continue denying Kedah's attempts, and ensure that it's still all to play for in the return fixture next weekend.

Norazlan Razali. Photo by Sports Regime

Anwar Ibrahim - 7/10

The right back performed well against the evidently superior hosts, ensuring that they never scored from open-play situations.

Haziq Puad - 6/10

The central defender did a fairly good job of helping deny Kedah from scoring more, but it was his foul in the 67th minute on Alves that gave away the penalty kick that could have made things a lot worse for the visitors, had it not been for Norazlan's brilliance.

Raffi Nagoorgani - 7/10

It wasn't easy for Felda to play away to Kedah with only one foreign signing and an all-local defence line, but they managed to minimise the damage thanks to the centre back's confident defending and leadership. Their defending was far from pretty most of the times, but it did the job. 

Jadid Ilias - 7/10

It wasn't an easy night for Felda by any measurement, but the central defender combined well with Tasnim to keep out the Kedah attackers.

Tasnim Fitri - 7/10

The left back endured a torrid first half with the hosts concentrating their attacks down his flank, but did just enough to keep them from doing any real damage, before the focus was shifted to the other wing.

Jasazrin Jamaluddin - 7/10

The midfielder still managed to get the ball away from his team's half of the pitch every now and then, even if the attackers were less than clinical.

Faiz Mazlan - 7/10

The midfielder had to help the defenders for most of the night, and did it adequately.

Zahril Azri Zabri - 6/10

The right winger could do little on a night they had to defend more and their attacking moves were subpar, and was booked rather early in the match.

Chanturu Suppiah - 6/10

The experienced former title-winner should have done more to help his side when counter-attacking, but their moves rarely worked. At one point in the first half he succeeded in taking the ball into the Kedah box, but his attempt to square the ball to the awaiting Kei Ikeda at the edge of the six-yard box overshot the Japanese instead, and the golden chance for a surprise lead went begging.

Kei Ikeda - 6/10

Much was expected of the former J1 League striker on a night the Fighters were missing several key players due to injuries and suspension and he was their only foreign player, but he failed to lead the few attacks they had well.

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