Malaysia Cup: KL City dethrones JDT in final

[superadmin]

KUALA LUMPUR − Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC produced a scintillating brand of counter-attacking football to stun favourites and defending champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) with a 2-0 score in the final of the prestigious Malaysia Cup and end their 32-year title drought at the national stadium in Bukit Jalil last night.

After absorbing everything thrown at them by the star-studded JDT, the City slickers tore the formbook to shreds when Zhafri Yahya and skipper Paulo Josue struck in the 66th and 74th minutes respectively to make sure of victory on a historic night.

The City Boys’ against-the-odds victory, which came on the 100th anniversary of the Malaysia Cup competition, also earned them a place in Asia’s secondary club football tournament − the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Cup − next season.

KL City, who were known as Kuala Lumpur FA before the privatisation of Malaysia League (M-League) clubs, managed to bag a hattrick of Malaysia Cup wins during their heyday when they defeated Kedah in the final on all three occasions in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

With almost 20,000 fans watching from the stands, the first half saw the Southern Tigers launch a series of assaults on the KL City goalmouth but the City Boys managed to ward them off with some gutsy defending, desperate tackles and outstanding goalkeeping by Kevin Ray Mendoza.

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