Terengganu staved off a determined challenge by Felda United to make the Malaysia Cup semi-finals in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 win in the return leg quarter-final at the Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu on Friday.
The Turtles, 2-1 winners in the first-leg at the Tun Abdul Razak Stadium in Jengka, advanced to the last four 6-4 on aggregate. Terengganu will play either defending champions Johor Darul Takzim or Pahang in the semi-finals.
True to Terengganu chief coach Irfan Bakti’s fears Felda, dubbed “The Fighters” gave the fight expected of the Premier League champions. Brazilian striker Thiago Junior shot his team into the lead after 12 minutes with a glancing header for a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Terengganu fell further behind after the break when four minutes into the second -half Ahmad Syamim Yahya got his name into the scoresheet.
That was when Terengganu woke up with the reliable England-born Lee Tuck giving the Terengganu fans plenty to cheer with Terengganu’s first goal of the night in the 57th minute. Felda 2-1.
The fight was on as midfielder Adib Aizuddin scored Terengganu’s second goal in the 69th minute to make it 2-2 on the night but Felda shocked the Turtles again with their third goal through Brazilian striker Gilberto Fortunato in the 78th minute.
The match swung Terengganu’s way in the last 10 minutes of play with Abdul Malik scoring in the 83rd minute before skipper Kipre Chetche turned hero with the winner with his team’s fourth in the 87th minute. – BYÂ RIZAL ABDULLAH
