| Fadhil Yunus |
PANCHOR Murai advanced to the first round of the DST FA Cup after they knocked out Tabuan Muda 4-3 in penalties with the score locked 1-1 in normal time of the playoff round at the Berakas Sports Complex last night.
Mohd Hadif Aiman bin Haji Adanan gave Tabuan the lead in the fifth minute but Awangku Muhammad Nur Hidayat bin Pengiran Haji Abas restored parity in the 65th minute.
Tabuan’s Md Aminuddin bin Haji Masri managed to get in between of the Panchor Murai defence after reacting to a long ball and forced a smart save from shot-stopper Zunnur Hazwan bin Daud.
However, Panchor Murai drew level after Awangku Muhammad Nur Hidayat applied the decisive touch from a dangerous set-piece.
Panchor’s Ahmad Asyraf bin Md Saudian evaded the Tabuan defence with an audacious piece of trickery in the box and sliced his effort wide much to the relief of the goalkeeper Mohd Danish Aiman bin Mardianni.
Tabuan’s goal-scorer Mohd Hadif Aiman broke loose and was in a position to win the cup tie in the second period of extra time but skewed his shot wide.
Tabuan were on the brink of victory but Amirul Aizad bin Haji Zaidi missed his decisive spot-kick and subsequently brought the shoot-out into sudden death.
Md Nur Al-Mustaqim bin Md Harun piled the pressure after scoring his spot-kick before Muhammad Haziq Hafizhan bin Hardi’s shot crashed against the crossbar to confirm the victory for Panchor Murai.