Kuching City ran out comprehensive 5-1 victors over Kelantan Red Warriors in the FA Cup Round of 16 on Monday evening, sealing their progression with goals from D. Wenzel-Halls, S. Rasid, R. Ngah twice and M. Che Mat, while K. Yamazaki pulled one back for the visitors.
And here's the thing about the opening exchanges — Kuching struck twice in the first thirteen minutes. Wenzel-Halls opened the scoring at seven, then Rasid doubled the advantage at twenty. By then, the visitors had already been comprehensively outplayed in their previous meeting just one week earlier, when they went down 5-0 at this same ground.
The second half brought more of the same. Ngah restored his two-goal cushion at fifty-three, before Che Mat made it 4-1 at sixty-eight. To be fair, Kelantan had created nothing worth speaking of, managing just three shots on target all evening compared to Kuching's eleven.
Ngah added his second from the penalty spot at seventy-one, then Yamazaki scored a consolation at eighty. The visitors had been in freefall — nine goals conceded against Johor Darul Tazim on their previous outing — and this result simply extended their misery.
The statistics told the story without embellishment. Kuching held 55 per cent possession, earned eight corners to three, and registered six shots off target alongside the eleven on target. Kelantan managed just one shot off target and seven throw-ins, with zero corners to speak of beyond those three.
What this means for Kuching is straightforward — they advance to the quarter-finals with momentum after back-to-back victories over their opponents. For Kelantan, there is nothing to salvage from a campaign that has seen them concede twenty-seven goals across their last four defeats.
