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| AFC Cup |
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| Safa stun Perak in Ipoh |
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| Al Safa downed Al Mabarrah 2-0 |
IPOH – Safa took a significant step towards the last four of the AFC Cup with a 2-0 win over Malaysia’s Perak in the first leg of the quarter-final on Tuesday night at Perak Stadium.
Goals from Rony Azar and Hamid Termina give the Lebanese side a vital advantage ahead of next Tuesday’s return fixture at Sport City Stadium in Beirut.
Azar gave his side the lead in the 38th minute before Termina put the result beyond doubt 10 minutes after the start of the second half.
However, with Mohamad Hardi Jaafar pulling the strings in midfield, it was the home side who created the first real chance in the seventh minute when the former national captain swerved in a free kick which forced a save from Safa keeper Nazih Tay.
But five minutes later, Perak were forced to make do without an out and out striker when Muhammad Khalid Jamlus limped off the pitch to be replaced by Wirat Nom.
The failure of Hardi to score in the 27th minute following a cleverly woven one-two with Ahmad Shahrul Azhar would soon allow Safa to claw their way into the game.
The Lebanese made full use of the flanks for Azar to cross from the right only to see the connecting header from Ramez Dayoub going wide.
A corner in the 36th minute saw Safa captain Amer Khan floating the ball into the Perak box for a header by Ramez Dayoub which Perak keeper Mohd Nasril Nourdin did well to deny.
Two minutes later, however, Safa were in front when a cross from Khan was headed into the Perak goal by Azar for the first goal of the game.
Perak did not begin the second half on a positive note when defender S. Subramaniam picked up a yellow card for a foul against Khan.
And in the 55th minute, Perak fell further behind when the side from Lebanon nailed their second goal of the evening as Termina had little difficulty in making full use of his physical advantage to head in the free kick from Amer Khan.
Perak attempted to haul themselves back into the game by pressing the midfield but, without a striker to play for upfront, their chances were limited and, when Hardi Jaafar’s long-range free-kick was punched clear by Tay, the Malaysian side’s frustration was complete.
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