Kedah coach Tan Cheng Hoe did not discount the possibility of his team going through the 2017 season unbeaten, after the Canaries buried Perak 2-0 on Saturday to move into the Malaysia FA Cup quarterfinals.

Other FA Cup last eight ties include a tasty Pahang-Johor Darul Ta'zim encounter after they respectively eased past Melaka United 2-0 and Uitm 4-0 in the third round.

Negeri Sembilan inflicted more misery on Penang with a 4-1 thrashing to set up a clash against Sabah, while Terengganu-Sarawak completes the final quarterfinals.

At the Ipoh Stadium, Zachary Anderson and Ken Ilso's goals propelled the 2015 Cup semifinals to their seventh win of the season, and meant they are now unbeaten in the opening 10 games of 2017.

"If we can continue to play with this type of spirit and brand of football, there is every chance we can go the season unbeaten," Tan told ESPN FC.

"The players are fired up at the moment, and I am glad to see them play with so much cohesion and fluidity. One of the reasons we are clicking so well is also because the local players have found the right understanding with our imports."

Anderson's thumping header against Perak made him the ninth different player to score for this zipping passing side, affirming the growing belief that Kedah have match winners all over the park.

Tan's charges will now take on Premier League overachievers PKNP FC in a quarterfinal tie on March 31/April 1 and April 21/22.

The club side overcame Kuantan FA 5-4 in a thrilling encounter to book a berth against their more illustrious opponents, and the Kedah handler acknowledged their prowess.

"PKNP have been playing really well and been consistent so far. We will not take any team lightly, and the same goes for them. This is a Cup quarterfinal with so much at stake and we must be at our best again for two big games." added Tan.

The soft spoken chief will give his players a week break, before they prepare for PKNP clash.

For Rizal Ghazali, Khairul Helmi, Baddrol Bakhtiar, Akram Mahinan and Syazwan Zainon, there is no holiday as the five make the journey to report to the Football Association of Malaysia headquarters for the national team centralised training on Monday.

They are part of the Malaysian team who will travel to Manila to play the Philippines in a March 22 friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Malaysia's Group B Asian Cup qualifier against North Korea on March 28 has been postponed by the Asian Football Confederation after escalating tensions between both governments, following the death of Kim Jong-Nam, the half-brother of Kim Jong-Un at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by NICOLAS ANIL

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]