KUALA LUMPUR – Johor Darul Ta’zim achieved their second consecutive treble as they edged Terengganu FC 3-1 in the Malaysia Cup final at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium today.
JDT are now the second Malaysian team to achieve the feat after Kedah in 2007 and 2008.
The poor pitch conditions were evident in the opening two minutes of the game when players from both sides collided, nearly prompting the referee to reach into his pocket on several occasions.
JDT dominated the early exchanges with an early chance coming the way of Afiq Fazail in the fourth minute.
However, the midfielder failed to put his shot on target with teammate Arif Aiman following suit just a minute later.
In the seventh minute, the Southern Tigers were awarded a penalty after Bergson da Silva was brought down by Terengganu’s Ubaidullah Shamsul.
The Brazilian striker stepped up to send the spot kick beyond Terengganu goalkeeper Suhaimi Husin to put JDT 1-0 up.
However, Terengganu levelled 11 minutes later through Croatian striker Ivan Mamut, who calmly converted his penalty to the bottom-right corner after being brought down by JDT defender Jordi Amat.
Fernando Forestieri, who has scored 26 goals in all competitions for Esteban Solari’s side this season, nearly restored JDT’s lead with a header in the 45th minute.
Meanwhile, it was a much-improved JDT side in the second half as they created more chances.
In the 73rd minute, defender Feroz Baharudin drove forward with purpose and headed in a perfect cross from Arif Aiman to give JDT a 2-1 lead.
The Turtles’ Liridon Krasniqi, who came on as a substitute for midfielder Nurillo Tukhtasinov, then gave away a penalty in the 90th minute.
The referee’s decision to award the penalty angered the majority of Terengganu fans, as they could be seen throwing water bottles onto the pitch, while many walked away from the stadium.
Arif Aiman sealed the victory for JDT by calmly slotting the penalty into the bottom-right corner.
Solari has now become the first JDT coach to win a treble in his first season at the club.
The Malaysia Cup final saw a total of 80,550 fans attending from both sides. – December 8, 2023