Terengganu FC, a club from Malaysia out of the group stage despite beating Bali United, a club from Indonesia, scoring 2-0 in the AFC Cup 2023/24 Group Stage, Group G at Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Gong Badak.
Earlier in the match, this season’s Malaysia Cup finalists managed to get two golden chances through Habib Haroon in the 20th minute who hit the crossbar.
Three minutes later, it was the attacker’s turn to step up, Muhammad Syahmi Zamri had the best chance to break the deadlock after receiving a pass from Nor Hakim Hassan, but his attempt soared over the goal post.
However, the home team’s persistent efforts finally paid off in the 38th minute through a solid shot by the captain, Sony Norde, who had previously received a feed from Habib for his team to lead 1-0.
Throughout the first half, TFC’s third goalkeeper, Syed Nasrulhaq, was not tested at all by the dangerous attempts of the opposing team, which was managed by Stefano Cugurra.
In the 63rd minute, Ivan Mamut missed an opportunity to add his team’s second goal after his shot hit Bali defense.
Similarly, Nor Hakim’s attempt in the 71st minute as a result of Mamut’s pass also failed to be translated into a goal even though the visiting goalkeeper, Muhammad Ridho, had already lost.
In the 88th minute, defender Sardor Kulmatov scored his team’s second goal after cleverly escaping the visitors’ defence to make the final score in TFC’s favour with a 2-0 win.
However, the success of defeating the Indonesian club of Terengganu FC has not confirmed a place in the semi-finals because has to wait for the result of the last match of Group F involving the meeting between the Myanmar club, Shan United and the Cambodian club, Phnom Penh Crown tomorrow to grab another slot to that stage.
Credit Photo : AFC
