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# Defending champions Qadsia SC beat JDT 3-1 in first leg AFC Cup semi-final
# Amri Yahyah’s away goal gives JDT life line
Defending champions Qadsia SC take a two-goal cushion from their first-leg AFC Cup semi-final against Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) after a 3-1 win in Kuwait City on Wednesday.
Substitute Amri Yahyah’s 82nd minute, however, could be the away goal lifeline for the Southern Tigers when the return-leg is played at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru where JDT have not lost in the five AFC Cup outings there. 
The only blemish was a 1-1 draw against Hong Kong’s South China in the first-leg quarter-final match. The return of Argentine striker Luciano Figueroa from suspension for the second-leg is and added boost for JDT.
Qadsia gave JDT a torrid time right from the kickoff but the Johor outfit held out and even saved two sure goals with skipper Safiq Rahim heading away a header by Fahed Al Ebrahim from Al Motowaa corner after 28 minutes.
Two minutes later another Motowaa corner saw Doris Fuakuputu’s power packed header coming off the bar with JDT goalkeeper Izham Tarmizi kept on his toes.
But it was a matter of time before Qadsia scored and it came on 33 minutes and this time Fuakuputu sent his header into the right corner after shrugging off Gary Roberts’s challenge. Qadsia 1-0.
 
Aidil Zaquan Abdul radzak gave away a penalty in the 43rd minute when he fell Motowaa inside the box. Motowaa picked himself up to score from the spot and give Qadsia a 2-0 lead.
Qadsia’s third goal came in the 58th minute – a bullet shot taken on the run from outside the box which Izham never saw.
 
As the minutes ticked substitute Amri threw a lifeline and give JDT hope for the second-leg. Amri made his way up on the left off a counter attack and brilliantly sent long range lob over Qadsia goalkeeper Ahmed Al Fahdli who had come off his line in the 82nd minute.
Qadsia coach Rashid Al Bedaih warned his players that the two goal cushion from the first-leg is not enough for a place in the final.
“We should not have conceded the goal after taking a 3-0 lead. It could be disastrous for us,” said Rashid.
His JDT counterpart Mario Gomez said a 2-1 defeat to Qadsia in the first-leg could have given his team better hopes at Larkin.
“It is not easy to come back from 3-1 down,” said Gomez.
RESULT
AFC CUP SEMI-FINAL (1st-leg)
QADSIA SC  (Kuwait)     3       JDT (Mas)       1   
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