KUALA LUMPUR – Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC recorded a stylish victory over Filipino club Kaya FC-Iloilo 4-1 tonight to fire up their chances of advancing to the knockout round of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup.
The win in the second Group G match at the Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Bali, Indonesia saw Aidil Sharin Sahak’s Sang Kenari squad grab second place, sharing three points with Bali United FC and sitting three points behind leaders Visakha FC.
In tonight’s action, both teams that lost in their opening matches went into half-time without a goal, with Kedah midfielder Mohd Syazwan Zainon missing a chance in the first minute.
Kedah finally broke the deadlock in the 57th minute through winger Muhammad Fayadh Mohd Zulkifli Amin who tapped in a pass from team captain Ronald Ngah Wanja.
Mahmoud Al-Mardi then scored Kedah’s second six minutes later off a pass from Ngah Wanja, before the captain himself got onto the scoresheet in the 82nd minute after completing a solo run.
Trailing 0-3, Kaya FC-Iloilo refused to give up and managed to grab one back through striker Jarvey Gayoso in the 86th minute before Kedah added their fourth in injury time through Muhammad Fayadh’s second goal of the night.
Meanwhile, Cambodian side Visakha FC collected another three points to top Group G after beating Bali United FC 5-2 in another match held at the same venue earlier today.
Visakha FC now only need a draw against Kedah in their final match on Thursday to qualify for the knockout round as group champions.
Meanwhile, in Group H action, Indonesian club PSM Makassar beat Singapore’s Tampines Rovers 3-1 at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras.
The victory sees PSM Makassar, who were held to a goalless draw against Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC in the opening match at the same venue last Friday, lead the Group H competition with four points.
KL City will take on Tampines Rovers in the final Group H match in Cheras this Friday with the mission to emerge as group champions.
The AFC Cup group competition takes place in a round-robin league format with three group champions (Group G, H and I) and the best runners-up qualifying as the four teams from the ASEAN zone for the next stage.
