# Favourites JDT left in a daze
# JDT yet to come to terms Malaysia Cup exit after shock defeat to Felda United
It is the talk of the town and the hottest topic for discussions. From bus stops, insides buses or a taxi, to coffee shops to shopping mails and offices and even in new villages and kampungs Johor Darul Takzim’s shock exit in the Malaysia Cup is the talk.
Tears were shed soon after referee Nazri Nasaruddin blew the final whistle with the scoreline reading JDT 1 FELDA UNITED 2 ( which saw the plantation giants march into the semi-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
There were also tears of joy – at the Felda United bench – as team officials and players jumped with joy for many reasons.
The usually “Ale Ale Johor” – JDT’s famous song sung by the patriotic in the stands – simply vanished into thin air. Everyone was left stunned as none had expected the newly crowned AFC Cup champions to be beaten in their own den.
After all the Southern Tigers had been unbeaten the Larkin Stadium – which is dubbed “This is Larkin” since October 2013.
But Irfan Bakti and his Felda United (The Fighters) showed that it cane be done with the right approach even though the plantations are nowhere near JDT when it comes to depth on the bench and have a big squad like JDT.
Nov 28 will go down in history as Felda United carved out a thrilling 2-1 win with the first minute penalty JDT gave away after JDT’s Singaporean import Hariss Harun was hauled up for hands.
JDT hotly disputed the penalty and it was a good two minutes before the spot kick was finally taken by Felda’s Thiago Augusto who made no mistake to put his team 1-0 up.
Even when JDT skipper Safiq Rahim equalised for the Southern Tigers on 50 minutes it did not rattle Felda.
Instead, Liberian Zah Rahan Krangar made it 2-1 in the 77th minute – a beautiful chip that hit the bar before it hit the inside of the side netting before goalkeeper Farizal Marlias could recover.
Even if JDT had equalised the 2-2 would still have given Felda a place in the last four by virtue of having scored more away goals. The first-leg at the Selayang Stadium ended in a 1-1 draw.
For Irfan shattering JDT’s two-year unbeaten record at home takes a back seat.
“Making the semi-finals is more important for us,” said Iran, reflecting on the disappointment of losing in the semi-finals last year when JDT advanced to the final on a 6-5 aggregate.
Felda won the first-leg at home by a 4-3 margin but fell to a 3-1 defeat at Larkin.
In the semi-final this year Felda will be up against Kedah who advanced to the last four with a 3-1 win in the return-leg at Selayang to advance 4-2 on aggregate.
