DEVINDER SINGH
KUALA LUMPUR: Premier League sides Negri Sembilan and Terengganu advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals where they were joined by Super League title chasers Kedah on Friday.
Negri were held 0-0 by Sabah at Paroi but edged the quarter-final tie 1-0 on aggregate while Terengganu dumped Super League strugglers Sarawak out on penalties.
Kedah, leading comfortably 6-1 from the first leg, unexpectedly lost 1-0 to second-tier Perak State Economic Development Corporation in Ipoh with Shahrel Fikri Fauzi scoring second leg's only goal in the 10th minute to preserve their unbeaten record at the Perak Stadium this season.
It was Kedah's second successive defeat after going down 5-0 to Kuala Terengganu T-Team last weekend which ended their 23-match unbeaten run.
Negri reached the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2010, when they won the tournament for a second time, despite squandering numerous chances against fellow Premier League side Sabah.
Khairul Anwar Shahrudin and Noor Hazrul Mustafa both hit the woodwork for Premier League leaders Negri with Marko Simic and Bruno Suzuki Castanheira also going close to break the deadlock.
In Kuching, Sarawak and Terengganu battled to a second successive 1-1 draw to tie the aggregate score at 2-2 after extra-time.
The visitors opened the scoring through Issey Nakajima-Farran in the ninth minute before the State Stadium erupted when Demerson Bruno Costa equalised with 10 minutes remaining to send the game into extra-time and then penalties.
Sarawak, however, missed their first two spot-kicks while Terengganu's Nakajima-Farran, Federico Falcone, Lazaro Vinicius and J. Partiban successfully converted their attempts to win the shoot-out 4-1.
Kedah will face Terengganu in the semi-finals while Negri await the winner of the Johor Darul Ta'zim-Pahang tie which the former trail 3-1 ahead of the return at Larkin on Sunday.