Johor Darul Ta’azim (JDT) finally ended their 24-year wait for the prestigious FA Cup trophy after defeating PKNS FC 2-1 in a thrilling encounter at the Shah Alam Stadium earlier tonight.
The Southern Tigers head coach Mario Gomez fielded a strong line-up with the likes of team captain Safiq Rahim, Hariss Harun, Juan Martin Lucero and Jorge Pereyra Diaz. There was a surprise exclusion of Amri Yahyah from the squad as the Argentinian coach opted to start Azamuddin Akil instead. The Red Ants boss E. Elavarasan was in a good mood during the press conference yesterday and was proud of his team for making it this far. He kept faith in fielding a similar starting eleven to those throughout the season as he included his regulars such as team captain Gonzalo Soto, Juan Cobelli, in-form Gabriel Guerra and Matias Hadwa.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) referee Syed Azhar was given the honour of officiating the final and blew his whistle to indicate the start of a long 90 minutes for both sides.
The Premier League side started the match brightly after Juan Manuel Cobelli’s good run and even better lay-off found Gabriel Guerra, whose shot from the edge of the penalty box hit the top of the crossbar. A minute later, Aidil Zafuan fouled Gonzalo Soto after a corner was whipped in the box and the referee awarded a penalty to PKNS, much to the disbelief of the Johor fans. Gabriel Guerra stepped up and calmly converted the ball to the back of the net.
Jorge Pereyra Diaz made a brilliant run before being fouled outside the box. Safiq Rahim was the usual suspect behind the set piece but his free-kick just sailed above the crossbar. Pereyra Diaz could have levelled the game but he fluffed his shot from five yards out.
S. Kunanlan deployed a through ball down the wing but the PKNS defenders were unaware of Pereyra Diaz’s run and he got the ball before G. Jeevanathan brought him down in the penalty box. The referee booked the goalkeeper and awarded the second penalty of the game before Southern Tigers captain Safiq Rahim equalized on the 16th minute.
Ten minutes later, a Safiq Rahim corner dropped for Aidil Zafuan outside the box and the defender crossed the ball for Juan Lucero, who saw his header outstandingly saved by Jeevanathan. However, the Argentinian was in an offside position before the ball was played.
The Red Ants broke on the counter attack again and Nazrin Syamsulbahri played in a delicious cross for Juan Manuel Cobelli, who headed it back down to Gabriel Guerra and the Argentinian attacking midfielder slammed the ball against the crossbar on the 32nd minute.
Two minutes later, Jorge Pereyra Diaz was left unmarked on the side of the box and he blasted the ball towards the goal, which was deflected off M. Sivakumar but the Johor Darul Ta’azim topscorer pounced on the rebound and gained the lead for The Southern Tigers. The Boys of Straits as well as all the fans in the stadium broke down in a state of ecstasy.
The second half kicked off and the Johor-based side immediately picked up where they left off in the first half when Safiq Rahim’s left-footed attempt just sailed a few inches off target.
The tempo of the match slowed down a tad bit as Mario Gomez’s men were taking their time in restarting the plays from set pieces. On the 54th minute, Azamuddin Akil delivered a good cross in the box but Azinee Taib could not get enough power in his header which went wide.
The Southern Tigers continued to dominate the tie since the beginning of the second half and they could have heaped misery on E. Elavarasan’s men after Amirulhadi Zainal’s through ball found Pereyra Diaz but the Argentinian’s shot was tame enough for Jeevanathan to catch.
Matias Hadwa almost levelled the game on the 84th minute but his shot just flew inches above the crossbar. A few minutes later, Gabriel Guerra found Juan Manuel Cobelli and the Argentinian was one-on-one with Izham Tarmizi but blasted his shot wide off goal.
The referee blew the full-time whistle to indicate Johor Darul Takzim as the FA Cup winners.
The match attendance at the Shah Alam Stadium tonight was recorded at 75,253 fans.
Other posts by Prashant Kharbanda
