PETALING JAYA: A broken nose but it was all worth it.
South Korean Seo Seu-nung (pic) scored an important goal via a header for Perak – not with his head but with his nose – a broken one too – and it was just good enough to take them into the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals.
Perak were in left in disbelief after the final whistle when they did the unthinkable by toppling northern giants Kedah 4-3 on aggregate in the round of 16.
With a 3-1 lead from the first-leg, Perak lost 1-2 in the second leg at the Darulaman Stadium in Alor Setar on Friday but they nosed ahead into the quarter-finals.
Kedah took the lead through Manuel Hidalgo in the 28th minute when he buried a penalty and continued to pile on the pressure with their possession football.
Perak were under the pump when Khairul Asyraf Ramli was sent off in the 55th minute.
The home side thought they had the away goal advantage when centreback Akmal Zahir scored in the 81st minute with a pile driver from outside the box.
Perak however had the last laugh when Seu-nung turned hero by scoring a late goal in the 85th minute to confirm Perak’s spot in the last eight.
Coach Yusri Che Lah was lost for words and was visibly emotional.
“Seo scored the header with his nose, his broken nose. Not his head, but his nose,” said Yusri.
“It shows how committed the players were to getting the team to the next stage.
“Even when Khairul got the red, we continued to work as a real unit.
“Even the freekick that got the goal, Lucho (Luciano Guaycochea) was supposed to take it but Che Suhairi Che Halim was brave to do his set-piece and we got a goal.
“We are in the next round, it’s God’s plan.
“No one predicted us to go to the next round. Even when we were down with 10 men, we kept the fight.
“It was a nerve-wracking 90 minutes. Kedah were going all out but we stayed resolute. This qualification is a confidence booster before the next league game against Kuala Lumpur.”
