The Malaysia Cup semi-final biggie down south at the Larkin Stadium this Saturday is the main drawcard in the country’s premier football competition, as Terengganu take a slim 1-0 advantage into the second-leg.
Five-time Super League champions Johor Darul Takzim (JDT) is the most feared team in the M-League but the Southern Tigers had their ups and downs in the Malaysia Cup and this gives Terengganu hope of keeping the Cup final date on Oct 27.
Terengganu coach Irfan Bakti is counting on the slim lead going into the Larkin den – dubbed the ‘Home of the Southern Tigers – a much-feared venue for many a visiting team.
“Of course based on records and statistics at Larkin they (JDT) are favorites but we are not stopping at that. We have a one-goal advantage and we aim to make the best out of it,” said the experienced and shrewd Irfan from Kuala Terengganu.
“The pressure is on JFT. They will be playing at home and they will have fantastic crowd support. However, we have a good track record against them this year and do not fear to play them.
Terengganu won the first-leg in Kuala Terengganu 1-0 with Abdul Malik Mat Ariff’ netting the winner.
Irfan, however, is quick to admit, that JDT is an all-around team with enormous depth on the bench – which means “we cannot sit back and defend our one-goal advantage” as there is another half of the battle to be won.
“Every player in JDT is a winner and we will have to be at our best. we will adopt an attacking game and hope to grab an early goal to add more pressure on JDT,” added Irfan.
JDT, the defending Malaysia Cup champions, had a disastrous start to their campaign in the group stages – losing to MISC-MIFA at home, Kelantan, and Kedah away before checking into the quarter-finals.
In the quarter-finals, JDT knocked out knockout Pahang while Terengganu took care of Felda United.
In the other semi-final match, Perak is virtually through to the final after a massive 5-1 win over Premier League’s Sabah in the first-leg at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh. – BY RIZAL ABDULLAH
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