Perak tops LG's Group B
Perak tops LG's Group B
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Perak FC of Malaysia won the Group B LG Cup ASEAN Club
Championship on Tuesday, after defeating Duli Pengiran Muda
Mahkota (DPMM) of Brunei Darussalam 3-0 in Gresik, East Java.
It was Perak's second victory following its 2-0 defeat of
Singapore's SAF FC on Sunday.
Perak will face Samart United of Cambodia -- runner-up of
Group A -- in the quarterfinal.
Host Petrokimia Putra, which tops the two-team Group A, will
play Group B runner-up, either DPMM or SAF FC of Singapore, which
will meet on Thursday.
Perak initially had difficulty in scoring a goal in the first
half, according to Antara.
Liberian forward Frank Seator and Malaysian national team
striker Indra Putra came close to breaking the deadlock many
times, but failed to follow through, leaving the first half game
scoreless.
The first goal for the Malaysian team came from a penalty shot
in the 52nd minute, with Seator being the executor. He was
rewarded the penalty shot after midfielder Yusri Bin Che Lah was
brought down inside the penalty box. It was Seator's second goal
at the LG Cup tournament.
Defender Syamsul Bin Saad doubled the lead for Perak when
DPMM's goalkeeper Rahimin, who made silly mistakes throughout the
game, miscued a corner kick by Brazilian Flavio Rocha in the 71st
minute.
DPMM tried to put up a fight and grab its share of ball
possession against Perak. However, the plot left their defense
even more vulnerable.
Perak's Nanthakumar led a fast counterattack in injury time
and sneaked in a through pass to back right wing Harizul Izuan,
who found the net and sealed the big win for the Malaysian team.
Perak's Brazilian coach Tony Netto admitted to his team's slow
start in the first half. He said he instructed his squad to
increase play in the second half. "The result was that we scored
three goals."
DPMM still has a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals match
against Petrokimia Putra, if it manages to win against SAF FC in
their last Group B qualifying match on Thursday.