KUALA LUMPUR: Defending champions Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) edged KL City 2-1 in the quarter-final first leg of the Malaysia Cup at the KLFA Stadium in Cheras on Friday.
Bergson da Silva broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute with a clinical finish to give JDT a 1-0 lead.
Heberty Fernandes doubled JDT's lead in the 79th minute.
A clever dummy by Da Silva allowed Fernandes to finish confidently, marking his fourth goal in the competition.
But, KL City midfielder Brendan Gan pulled one back in the 89th minute with a bicycle kick to reduce the deficit.
JDT will look to complete the job when they host KL City at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium for the return leg on Dec 21.
Meanwhile, Kpah Sherman scored in Sri Pahang's 1-0 win over Perak at the Manjung Stadium.
Sherman scored the winner in the 23rd minute.
However, Sri Pahang were reduced to 10 players in stoppage time when Zarif Irfan Hashimuddin was sent off for violent conduct.
Sri Pahang will host Perak in the second leg at Temerloh Stadium on Dec 22.
Results
Malaysia Cup
Quarter-finals (1st Leg)
PERAK 0 SRI PAHANG 1, KL CITY 1 JDT 2.
Challenge Cup
Quarter-finals (1st Leg)
KEDAH 3 KL ROVERS 0.