# JDT face Kedah in the last four
# Diaz and Lucero score a brace each in 5-2 win
By Rizal Abdullah
Title favourites Johor Darul Takzim showed no mercy as they roared to a 5-2 win over Police in the return-leg FA Cup quarter-final match at the Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru on Saturday.
The Southern Tigers will now meet Kedah in the two-leg semi-finals and are the hot favourites for a place in the final. Last year the Johor outfit could only go as far as the second round but this year the Southern Tigers have established themselves as the team to beat.
JDT rode on their Argentine firepower with Jorge Pereyra Diaz and Juan Lucero scoring a brace each to bury the Cops who had talked much about pulling off an upset after restricting the Southern Tigers to a 1-0 win in the first leg at the Hang Jebat Stadium in Malacca.
Once Diaz opened the floodgates in the 16th minute the writing was on the wall. Diaz got his second on 29 minutes and the fanatical home fans had plenty to cheer at the home of the Southern Tigers.
Skipper Safiq Rahim scored off a penalty after 39 minutes before Lucero took over to get his name into the score-sheet with the fourth and fifth goals which came in the 42nd and 66th minutes respectively.
JDT are the reigning Malaysian Super League champions and have established themselves as the most consistent team in the country. They already have one silverware in the cabinet – the Charity Shield by defeating Selangor 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The Southern Tigers are also the reigning AFC Cup champions.
