AFC Cup

PSM Makassar of Indonesia defeated Kedah Darul Aman of Malaysia in a narrow 2-1 win on Tuesday, before Kuala Lumpur City edged Vietnam’s Viettel FC on penalties the day after following a goalless draw in Ho Chi Minh City.

Before the two victors face one another on August 24 to crown the best ASEAN team in this year’s AFC Cup and a ticket to the Inter-Zone Semi-final against India’s ATK Mohun Bagan, the-AFC.com highlights some of the standout numbers from this week’s two ties.

The result means the 2021 Malaysia Cup winners will face PSM Makassar of Indonesia, who beat Kedah Darul Aman in the other semi-final, in the ASEAN Zonal final on August 24.

Goalkeeper Azri Ghani kept out Bui Duy Thuong’s penalty in the seventh round of penalties to take the Malaysians into the next phase of the competition on August 24, with the winner facing ATK Mohun Bagan of India in the Inter-Zone Playoff Semi-finals in Kolkata on September 7.

PSM, who played with 10 men in the final half hour before being reduced further just before the final whistle, came out tops to become the first Indonesian side to advance to the AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal Final.

Yakob Sayuri put Makassar ahead in the 31st minute and Yuran Fernandes doubled the lead nine minutes after the restart before the central defender was sent off for a second bookable offence. Fayadh Zulkifli claimed a late consolation for Malaysia's Kedah four minutes from time.

PSM will face Vietnamese side Viettel or Kuala Lumpur City from Malaysia, who meet in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, on August 24 for a place in the Inter-Zone Semi-finals next month.

It will be the first meeting between the sides in the AFC Cup with both teams fancying their chances of winning.

The West Zone Semi-finals see Kuwait’s Arabi SC take on Oman’s Al Seeb, while the Riffa derby will be played out for the first time on the continental stage between East Riffa and Al Riffa.

The 30-year-old, who missed a penalty earlier, went on to deliver a sublime performance as he created the fourth goal before scoring the ultimate individual goal, embarking on a powerful solo run that saw him bypass the Visakha FC backline before applying a composed finish to sign off a 5-1 win for the Malaysian side.

Ngah's effort garnered 57 percent of the votes.

Making their debut in the continental competition, Viettel stormed through June's group stage, winning all three of their games and scoring a joint tournament-leading 11 goals in the process to advance to the knockout rounds with minimal fuss.

Since then, however, Viettel’s league form has dipped as they have lost four from six and fallen to mid-table in the V.League. But with continental action to resume against Kuala Lumpur City at Ho Chi Minh City’s Thong Nhat Stadium on Wednesday, Hoang Duc is hoping the competition can inspire an upturn in fortunes.