KUALA LUMPUR: Perak and Felda United staged remarkable second leg recoveries in the Malaysia Cup quarter-finals on Sunday to join favourites Johor Darul Ta'zim and defending champions Kedah in the semi-finals.
Perak overturned a 3-1 first leg deficit to beat Pahang 4-0 in the return in Ipoh for a 5-3 aggregate success to set up a last-four meeting with Darul Ta'zim.
Felda came back from three goals down on aggregate to edge Perak State Economic Development Corporation, the sole remaining Premier League team in the competition, to win 4-1 in the second leg in Shah Alam and advance 5-4 on aggregate.
Darul Ta'zim, fielding a much-changed line up, advanced past Melaka 5-2 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw in Johor Baru while Sandro Mendonca's 30th-minute penalty was enough for Kedah to beat Selangor 1-0 in Alor Star to go through 4-2 overall.
Perak, playing without injured playmaker Yashir Pinto, reached the Malaysia Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2007 following a rousing win at the Perak Stadium.
Gilmar Jose Da Silva Filho needed just three minutes to launch Perak's comeback before the Brazilian struck again an hour later to make it 2-0 on the night and 3-3 overall.
Late goals by Kenny Pallraj and Nazrin Nawi sealed an emphatic win as Perak coach Mehmet Durakovic looks to repeat his success with Selangor in this competition in 2015.
But Perak will have to get past Darul Ta'zim, who have never won the Malaysia Cup and could afford to leave out the likes of Mohammed Ghaddar, Gabriel Guerra, Gonzalo Cabrera and Safiq Rahim from the starting line up at Larkin.
Nazmi Faiz Mansor drilled in the opening goal for the hosts after 20 minutes but Felipe De Souza equalised for Melaka from the penalty spot a minute from half-time after S. Kunanlan was penalised for handball.
Trailing 3-1 from the first leg in Jengka, Felda looked headed for the exit when Kim Hyeon-woo scored in the eighth minute for Perak SEDC, who hosted the second leg in Shah Alam instead of Ipoh due to a clash of fixtures.
But Wan Zack Haikal Wan Nor and Idefayo Omosuyi scored in quick succession midway through the first half to drag Felda back into the match before Wan Zack curled a corner-kick direct into goal right on the half-time to bring the overall scores level.
Zah Rahan Krangar grabbed the winner just three minutes after the break as Felda reached the semi-finals for the third time where they will take on on Kedah.