Pahang overturned a two-goal deficit to sensationally thump Kedah 5-0 on home soil yesterday, effectively putting them into the finals of the Malaysia Cup.
Kedah came into the game, high on confidence, as well as with a slight advantage, thanks to their 3-1 win in the first leg. But Pahang were way too impressive from the get go, and effectively claimed the scalp of Tan Cheng Hoe’s men.
With Dickson Nwakaeme and Damion Stewart returning from suspension, Pahang started with an extremely strong squaq. But it was Matias Conti who produced the first blood, finding the back of the net on the 4th minute mark.
Billy Mehmet had an interesting opportunity to make things count for Kedah, but his attempt was parried away to safety. But on the 26th minute, Pahang leveled the tie on aggregate as Gopinathan fired home, after an excellent cross from Azamuddin Akil.
But just three minutes later, it was 3-0! Matias Conti showed tremendous predatory instincts and movement to score from close range, putting Pahang 4-3 ahead on aggregate.
And just as Kedah were looking to minimize the damage and head into half time to recuperate and regroup, Pahang. Dickson Nwakaeme produced a sensational run, evading several Kedah defenders, before threading a pass to Conti, who made no mistakes by firing home to seize his hat-rick and put Pahang 4-0 ahead, going into the half time break.
Predictably enough, Kedah had plenty of zest in them after the break, as they vigorously pushed ahead in search of a comeback, but Pahang were tactically smart in dealing with it. They were now 4-0 up in the game, and 5-3 up on aggregate, which didn’t necessitate extremely attacking football. So they sat back, defended well and eventually reaped rewards for it.
On the 70th minute mark, a counter attack from Pahang saw Gopinathan break with pace on the flanks. He used his electric pace to move past Rizal and Adam Griffiths with ease, before firing a powerful shot that rattled the back of the net. That effectively killed the game, as Pahang snatched an impeccable victory to complete their comeback.
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