2023 Malaysia FA Cup final

2023 Malaysia FA Cup final
	The match took place at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium.
Event	2023 Malaysia FA Cup
Date	22 July 2023
Venue	Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri
Man of the Match	Hong Wan ; (Johor Darul Ta'zim)
Referee	Nazmi Nasaruddin
Attendance	33,598
Weather	Good ; 28 °C (82 °F)
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The 2023 Malaysia FA Cup final was an association football match played between Johor Darul Ta'zim and Kuala Lumpur City at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri, Johor on 22 July 2023. It will be the 34th FA Cup final. It was Kuala Lumpur City's first FA Cup final since 1999, and JDT's second successive FA Cup final.

Nazmi Nasaruddin, from Penang, was the referee for the match, which was played in front of 33,598 spectators. After a goalless first half, Hong Wan scored midway through the second half with a strike from distance which flew into the top-left corner of Kuala Lumpur City's goal past Kevin Ray Mendoza. They extended their lead in the 74th minute when midfielder Leandro Velázquez scored. The match ended 2–0 to Johor Darul Ta'zim who won the FA Cup for the third time.

As winners, Johor Darul Ta'zim will enter the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two. However, as Johor Darul Ta'zim had already qualified for the group stage of the 2024–25 AFC Champions League as the 2023 Malaysia Super League champions, the berth reserved was given to the second-placed team of the Super League.

Background

The Malaysian Football League (MFL) has confirmed Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri, Johor has been officially picked as the venue for the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup Final, scheduled to take place on 22 July 2023. The MFL previously determined that the venue selection for the 2023 FA Cup Final will be made through an open bid to all 2023 Malaysia League clubs, starting on 19 May 2023. The selection was made after confirming that the Bukit Jalil National Stadium cannot be used due to still in the process of improvement and renovation.^[1]

In the bid period that was opened on 19 May 2023 to 24 May 2023, only Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) submitted an application where no bid was received by the MFL from other clubs or applied for an extension of the bid period. Following no bids received from any club other than JDT, the MFL confirmed that Sultan Ibrahim Stadium has been chosen as the venue for the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup Final.^[2] However, any changes regarding the venue selection are subject to the decision of the MFL Board of Directors.^[3]

Route to the final

Johor Darul Ta'zim^[4]		Round	Kuala Lumpur City^[5]
Opposition	Score	Round	Opposition	Score
PDRM (H)	3–0	2nd	Immigration (H)	2–0
Penang (H)	5–0	QF	Sabah (A)	2–1
Selangor (H)	4–0	SF	Terengganu (A)	0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue

Johor Darul Ta'zim

As a Super League club, Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) started in the second round where they were drawn against Super League team PDRM at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium. JDT dominated their opponents and won 3–0, with all three penalty goals scored by Bergson; two goals and a lone goal from Leandro Velázquez.^[6]^[7] In the quarter-finals, JDT faced Penang, another Super League team, at home. Jordi Amat and own goal opponent by Ousmane Fané gave JDT a two-goals lead in first-half before second-half goals from Arif Aiman, La'Vere Corbin-Ong and Syafiq Ahmad gave the home side a 5–0 victory.^[8] In the semi-final, JDT took on their rivals Selangor at home. Arif Aiman score a hat-trick to gave JDT half-time lead, before strikes from Fernando Forestieri secured a 4–0 win for JDT and qualification for the final.^[9]^[10]

Kuala Lumpur City

As a Super League team, Kuala Lumpur City entered the competition in the second round where they played at home at Kuala Lumpur Stadium against M3 League side Immigration. T. Saravanan opened the scoring for Kuala Lumpur City before end of the first half, before Romel Morales doubled the lead in the 83rd-minute to secure a 2–0 victory.^[11] Kuala Lumpur City played fellow Super League side Sabah at away in the quarter-final. Gabriel Peres put the home side ahead with a penalty goal to give them a 1–0 lead. After 30-minutes played, Romel Morales scored from a Zhafri Yahya assist to level the score. T. Saravanan then scored from a rebound after Sabah's defender Rizal Ghazali failed to hold on Saravanan's movement, to give Kuala Lumpur City a 2–1 win.^[12] In the semi-finals, they visited the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium to face another fellow Super League opponents Terengganu, where the match end with a goalless draw and took the game to extra time. With no further goals, the match went to a penalty shootout that Kuala Lumpur City won 4–2 after their goalkeeper Azim Al-Amin saved Nik Sharif and Liridon Krasniqi's spot kick. That win to ensure Kuala Lumpur City's progression to the final.^[13]^[14]

Match

Details

Team List and Official^[15]

22 July 2023

21:00 MYT

Johor Darul Ta'zim	2–0	Kuala Lumpur City
Hong Wan 66' Velázquez 74'	Report

Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri

Attendance: 33,598

Referee: Nazmi Nasaruddin

Johor Darul Ta'zim

Kuala Lumpur City


GK	33	Syihan Hazmi
RB	2	Matthew Davies
CB	5	Jordi Amat (c)	79'
CB	15	Feroz Baharudin	15'	84'
LB	22	Corbin-Ong	90'
CM	4	Afiq Fazail	80'
CM	6	Hong Wan
CM	10	Leandro Velázquez	75'	84'
RF	42	Arif Aiman	90'
CF	9	Bergson
LF	45	Fernando Forestieri
Substitutes:
GK	26	Farizal Marlias
DF	32	Shahrul Saad		84'
DF	91	Syahmi Safari
MF	19	Akhyar Rashid		90'
MF	20	Juan Muñiz		84'
MF	23	Endrick
MF	24	Óscar Arribas		90'
MF	77	Syamer Kutty Abba		80'
FW	28	Syafiq Ahmad
Coach:
Esteban Solari



GK	1	Kevin Ray Mendoza
RB	12	Declan Lambert	67'
CB	5	Matko Zirdum
CB	9	Giancarlo Gallifuoco
LB	4	Kamal Azizi
CM	6	Ryan Lambert
CM	19	Sebastian Avanzini	25'
RW	8	Zhafri Yahya	14'	77'
AM	28	Paulo Josué (c)
LW	26	T. Saravanan	62'
CF	7	Romel Morales	77'
Substitutes:
GK	20	Azim Al-Amin
DF	25	Anwar Ibrahim		67'
DF	77	Nazirul Naim
MF	14	Akram Mahinan		62'
MF	21	Kenny Pallraj
FW	16	J. Partiban
FW	17	Sean Giannelli
FW	23	Kipré Tchétché		77'
FW	37	Haqimi Azim		77'
Coach:
Bojan Hodak

Man of the Match:
Hong Wan (Johor Darul Ta'zim)

Assistant referees:
Zairul Khalil Tan
Shafiq Ahmad Said
Fourth official:
Junaidy Abd Samad
Reserve assistant referee:
S. Logeswaran
Fitri Maskon

Match rules

90 minutes
30 minutes of extra time if necessary
Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
Nine named substitutes
Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time^{[note 1]}

Notes

^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

^ "SSI Dipilih Sebagai Venue Perlawanan Akhir Piala FA 2023 Setelah Tiada Kelab Lain Buat Bidaan". malaysianfootballleague.com. Malaysian Football League. 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ "Lone bid from JDT, Sultan Ibrahim Stadium to host 2023 FA Cup Final – MFL". themalaysianreserve.com. The Malaysian Reserve. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ Abdullah, Meor (1 June 2023). "Stadium Sultan Ibrahim Jadi Venue Final Piala FA 2023". vocketfc.com. Vocket FC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
^ "Road to Final Piala FA 2023 : Johor Darul Ta'zim". malaysianfootballleague.com. Malaysian Football League. 20 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
^ "Road to Final Piala FA 2023 : Kuala Lumpur City FC". malaysianfootballleague.com. Malaysian Football League. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
^ Mohd Noor, Rizar (15 April 2023). "JDT mudah ke suku akhir". hmetro.com.my. Harian Metro. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
^ Noor, Azim (14 April 2023). "Piala FA: JDT Mara Ke Suku Akhir, Mudah Tewaskan PDRM". makanbola.com. Makan Bola. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
^ Mohd Noor, Rizar (28 May 2023). "JDT ratah Penang FC". bharian.com.my. Berita Harian. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
^ Timesport (26 June 2023). "Arif nets hat-trick as JDT hammer Selangor 4-0 to reach FA Cup final". nst.com.my. New Straits Times. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
^ Abdullah, Meor (26 June 2023). "Piala FA 2023: JDT Tiada Masalah Ke Final, Atasi Selangor 4-0". vocketfc.com. Vocket FC. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
^ "FA Cup: JDT, Terengganu, Kelantan, KL City march into quarterfinals". thevibes.com. The Vibes. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
^ Noor, Azim (28 May 2023). "Piala FA: KL City Tewaskan Sabah, Jumpa Terengganu Di Separuh Akhir". makanbola.com. Makan Bola. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
^ Azharie, Farah (26 June 2023). "KL City reach FA Cup final". nst.com.my. New Straits Times. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
^ Muhamad, Malik (26 June 2023). "KL City mara ke final, TFC menangis di laman sendiri". bharian.com.my. Berita Harian. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
^ "Team List : Johor Darul Ta'zim vs. Kuala Lumpur City". cms.fam. FAM. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.