PETALING JAYA, 8 Nov – A gem of a goal from Arif Anwar – his second on the night, powered rookies UiTM FC to a 3-2 win over Kelantan and a place in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals at the Manjung Stadium in Perak on Sunday.
Arif scored with a bicycle kick in the 67th minute when he ran into space to intercept a long ball from Rabih Ayata to catch Kelantan keeper Fikri Che Soh by surprise on a night when the east coast team looked like snatching a win after drawing level to wipe out UiTM’s 2-0 lead.
That goal gave UiTM a 3-2 lead after a double strike by Danial Ashraf Abdullah in a space of three minutes breathed life into Kelantan. Danial struck in the 61st and 63rd minutes.
UiTM roared to a 2-0 lead when Arif opened scoring in the 13th minute before Rafie Mat Yaacob got the second in the 16 minutes.
The university side will next face Premier League champions Penang for a place in the semi-finals. Penang defeated Felda United 3-1 in the first round.
For Selangor it was a hard earned win on a soggy pitch which denied both teams scoring opportunities but the Red Giants took the lead through their Nigerian hitman Ifedayo Olusegun on 21 minutes.
Brazilian midfielder Sandro Mendonca made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute – planting left footed shot past Melaka United’s former national number one custodian Khairul Fahmi Che Mat.
However, Melaka fought back after the break and pulled one back through Nigerian striker Uche Agba three minutes after the restart. It gave Selangor some jitters as Melaka grew in confidence.
However, Melaka could not add to the tally and allowed Selangor to keep their Malaysia Cup mission alive in the country’s oldest football tournament.
Selangor has won the prestigious silverware 33 times.
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