Johor Darul Ta’Zim take the first of the finalists this season after beating Sabah FC with a score of 3-1 in the TM Piala Malaysia 2022 semi-final 2nd leg at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri.
As soon as the first half started, JDT, which brought provisions for a 1-0 victory over Datuk Ong Kim Swee’s squad, began to push into the stronghold of The Rhinos squad and almost created a net as early as the fifth minute when Bergson Da Silva managed to get past the visiting defense but the goalkeeper, Damien Lim managed to block Bergson’s ball.
Entering the 35th minute, the South Tigers squad’s continued efforts to break the network deadlock paid off after Corbin Ong’s cross ball was perfected by Bergson.
Bidoglio’s protege added to the suffering of The Rhinos’ squad in the 41st minute after Nazmi Faiz’s ball was hit neatly by Arif Aiman Hanapi who was in the penalty box and allowed Fernando Forestieri to intercept the ball killing Damien to put JDT at ease with a 2-0 position.
In the second half, The Rhinos managed to close the goal gap in the 47th minute when Park Tae-su failed to catch the ball from 25 meters by the goalkeeper, Farizal Marlias, and Taiki Kagayama took full advantage of this opportunity.
When the action lasted a minute, JDT was given a penalty kick by the referee, Nazmi Nasaruddin after a substitute player, Akhyar Rashid was roughed up by Gerald Gadit in the penalty box.
However, another substitute, Safawi Rasid, failed to complete the shot.
Alternate player, Syafiq Ahmad made up for the loss when he scored a goal to ensure a 3-1 win in favor of the JDT.
JDT won 4-1 on aggregate and advanced in the final, in 26 November at Bukit Jalil National Stadium, Kuala Lumpur.
Credit Photo : Mohd Hairi/SNE Images